Probe at scandal-hit Stafford Hospital
DEVASTATED families may finally get answers to why their loved ones died in the Stafford Hospital scandal after the Government ordered a full public inquiry.
The decision means members of staff can be cross-examined in a bid to find what went wrong.
NHS inspectors said last year that between 400 and 1200 more patients had died at Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust than had been expected between 2005 and 2008.
At one point, receptionists were being asked to assess casualty patients and heart monitors were turned off because nurses did not know how to use them.
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley told MPs the inquiry was necessary because “we are little closer to understanding how it was allowed to happen by the wider system”.
Last night Julie Bailey, who founded a campaign group for families of victims, said: “A year ago David Cameron promised a public inquiry and he’s kept that promise. Former health ministers and executives will now have to explain why they did not stop this disaster.”