Francis Report

Francis Report

The FTN publishes an open letter to members in January 2013 exploring the issues which contribute to the quality of care and pledging our support to help members identify and share good practice in relation to quality.

Francis Report - publication

The Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry waspublished on Wednesday 6 February 2013.

Please see here for our immediate comment.

Please find here our initial reaction to the detailed recommendations in the report, and a version with content specific for FTN members here.

The Prime Minister's response

The government will respond next month in detail to the recommendations in the report. However, the Prime Minister today committed to moving more quickly on:

Putting patients first

  • There will be a single failure regime covering care quality, finances and governance, meaning the Care Quality Commission (CQC) will have the power to suspend provider Boards;
  • Poor scores on the Friends and Family Test will result in immediate CQC inspection;
  • Don Berwick (former Obama health adviser) will lead a review into making ‘zero harm’ a reality;
  • Nurses should be hired and promoted on the basis of compassion as a vocation not just an academic qualification.  Cameron favours linking pay to care quality over length of service. 

Accountability and transparency

  • The Secretary of State has asked the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and the General Medical Council (GMC) to explain why no-one has been struck off for the failures at Mid Staffordshire and to strengthen their systems of accountability.  The Law Commission will advise on updating the NMC’s decision making processes;
  • Government will look at moving responsibility for conducting criminal prosecutions in the NHS away from the Health and Safety Executive to CQC.

Regulatory action

  • CQC will have a new Chief Inspector of Hospitals to develop and implement a new hospital inspection regime to start autumn 2013.  It will examine the quality of care and make an explicit judgement about the culture of trusts. Government will re-examine the inspection regime to ensure judgements focus on whether a hospital is clean, safe and caring;
  • Sir Bruce Keogh will conduct an immediate investigation into care at hospitals with the highest mortality rates, and check remedial action is being taken;
  • Ann Clwyd MP (Labour) and Tricia Hart (Chief executive, South Tees Hospitals NHS FT) will lead a review into how hospitals in the NHS should handle complaints.

This is in addition to the National Quality Board and Quality Accounts System, the emphasis on quality of care on a par with quality of treatment in the Secretary of State’s Mandate to the NHS Commissioning Board and hourly nursing rounds in every ward.

Contacts