Hospital patients 'left in agony'
Patients were allegedly left screaming in pain and drinking from flower vases on a nightmare hospital ward.
Between 400 and 1,200 more people died than would have been expected at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust over three years, a damning Healthcare Commission report said.
"We saw patients drinking out of flower vases, they were so thirsty. Patients were screaming out in pain because you just could not get pain relief" - Julie BaileyThe watchdog's investigation found inadequately trained staff who were too few in number, junior doctors left alone in charge at night and patients left without food, drink or medication as their operations were repeatedly cancelled.
Patients were left in pain or forced to sit in soiled bedding for hours at a time and were not given their regular medication, the Commission heard.
Receptionists with no medical training were expected to assess patients coming in to A&E, some of whom needed urgent care.
Sir Bruce Keogh, medical director of the NHS, said there had been a "gross and terrible breach" of patients' trust and a "complete failure of leadership".
The Healthcare Commission's chairman Sir Ian Kennedy said the investigation followed concerns about a higher than normal death rate at the Trust, which senior managers could not explain.
He said: "The resulting report is a shocking story. Our report tells a story of appalling standards of care and chaotic systems for looking after patients. These are words I have not previously used in any report.
"There were inadequacies in almost every stage of caring for patients. There was no doubt that patients will have suffered and some of them will have died as a result."
Julie Bailey, 47, was so concerned about the care being given to her 86-year-old mother Bella at Stafford Hospital that she and her relatives slept in a chair at her bedside for eight weeks.
She said: "We saw patients drinking out of flower vases, they were so thirsty. Patients were screaming out in pain because you just could not get pain relief.
"It was like a Third World country hospital. It was an absolute disgrace."
The Trust's chief executive, Martin Yeates, and chairman, Toni Brisby, resigned earlier this month.
During Commons Question Time, Labour's Tony Wright (Cannock Chase) urged ministers to make enquiries into why a coroner refused to pass on information that could have helped the investigation.
He told MPs: "In the course of that report, they (the Healthcare Commission) say this: 'We thought that information from the coroner would be useful for the investigation.
"'We were disappointed that he declined to provide us with any information about the number or nature of inquests involving the trust."'
Justice Minister Michael Wills said: "Of course I can give you that reassurance. I will do that and I will write to you."
© Independent Television News Limited 2009. All rights reserved.
http://itn.co.uk/news/14197ee0899ef2f9fe05b2a84069c4e2.html
Patients were allegedly left screaming in pain and drinking from flower vases on a nightmare hospital ward.
Between 400 and 1,200 more people died than would have been expected at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust over three years, a damning Healthcare Commission report said.
"We saw patients drinking out of flower vases, they were so thirsty. Patients were screaming out in pain because you just could not get pain relief" - Julie BaileyThe watchdog's investigation found inadequately trained staff who were too few in number, junior doctors left alone in charge at night and patients left without food, drink or medication as their operations were repeatedly cancelled.
Patients were left in pain or forced to sit in soiled bedding for hours at a time and were not given their regular medication, the Commission heard.
Receptionists with no medical training were expected to assess patients coming in to A&E, some of whom needed urgent care.
Sir Bruce Keogh, medical director of the NHS, said there had been a "gross and terrible breach" of patients' trust and a "complete failure of leadership".
The Healthcare Commission's chairman Sir Ian Kennedy said the investigation followed concerns about a higher than normal death rate at the Trust, which senior managers could not explain.
He said: "The resulting report is a shocking story. Our report tells a story of appalling standards of care and chaotic systems for looking after patients. These are words I have not previously used in any report.
"There were inadequacies in almost every stage of caring for patients. There was no doubt that patients will have suffered and some of them will have died as a result."
Julie Bailey, 47, was so concerned about the care being given to her 86-year-old mother Bella at Stafford Hospital that she and her relatives slept in a chair at her bedside for eight weeks.
She said: "We saw patients drinking out of flower vases, they were so thirsty. Patients were screaming out in pain because you just could not get pain relief.
"It was like a Third World country hospital. It was an absolute disgrace."
The Trust's chief executive, Martin Yeates, and chairman, Toni Brisby, resigned earlier this month.
During Commons Question Time, Labour's Tony Wright (Cannock Chase) urged ministers to make enquiries into why a coroner refused to pass on information that could have helped the investigation.
He told MPs: "In the course of that report, they (the Healthcare Commission) say this: 'We thought that information from the coroner would be useful for the investigation.
"'We were disappointed that he declined to provide us with any information about the number or nature of inquests involving the trust."'
Justice Minister Michael Wills said: "Of course I can give you that reassurance. I will do that and I will write to you."
© Independent Television News Limited 2009. All rights reserved.
http://itn.co.uk/news/14197ee0899ef2f9fe05b2a84069c4e2.html
