Appalling standards at Stafford Hospital
Appalling standards of care at a hospital trust in Staffordshire put patients at risk and led to some dying, according to a damning report.
The "shocking" state of affairs at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust meant patients admitted as emergencies suffered due to serious lapses in care.
Between 400 and 1,200 more people died than would have been expected in a three-year period, the head of the investigation for the Healthcare Commission said.
Deb Hazeldine, whose 67-year-old mother Ellen Linstead caught Clostridium difficile and MRSA at Stafford Hospital while being treated for bone cancer, said the wards were "filthy" and she would often have to wash faeces off her mother's hands. Some patients were seen drinking water from vases by relatives of another patient because they were so thirsty, and others were screaming in pain.
The commission launched an inquiry after concerns were raised about higher than normal death rates in emergency care, in particular at Stafford Hospital.
It found deficiencies at "virtually every stage", including inadequately trained staff who were too few in number, junior doctors left alone in charge at night and dirty wards and bathrooms.
