Mid Staffs: Jeremy Hunt backs calls to scrap scandal-hit trust
Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust has been declared financially and clinically unsustainable

HEALTH SECRETARY Jeremy Hunt has backed calls to dissolve Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust following one of the biggest scandals in the history of the health service.
The trust, which has been in administration since last April, has been declared financially and clinically unsustainable.
In December, trust special administrators said that without changes Mid Staffordshire would face annual debts of more than £40m by 2017, reports The Guardian. Administrators recommended that the trust be dissolved, warning that it would not be able to make up its deficit because it did not provide enough specialised services.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
They also recommended that a new midwife-led maternity unit at Stafford should deal with half the number of 1,800 births the hospital does now, with difficult births to be dealt with by the University Hospital of North Staffordshire (UHNS) NHS Trust. Overall control of Stafford hospital is expected to go to UHNS Trust, while Cannock hospital would be run by Royal Wolverhampton Trust.
The health sector regulator Monitor approved the plans last month, despite opposition from local campaigners, and Hunt has today confirmed that the trust will be scrapped, with services moved to other hospitals.
It follows a 2009 investigation by the Healthcare Commission, which found that between 400 and 1,200 more people had died at Stafford hospital than would have been expected between 2005 and 2009. Last year the Francis Inquiry highlighted the "appalling and unnecessary suffering of hundreds of people", with some patients left lying in their own faeces for days or receiving the wrong medication.
Earlier this week, the Support Stafford Hospital group said it would be "bitterly disappointed" if the decision was taken to axe the trust. "We know that surrounding trusts are struggling be it financially and/or with capacity," it said in a blog post. "These problems have to be addressed. To send more patients to these trusts will only exacerbate problems for both our community and theirs."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'Extremists still find plenty of digital spaces'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
South Carolina to execute prisoner by firing squad
speed read Death row inmate Brad Sigmon prefers the squad over the electric chair or lethal injection, his lawyer said
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump eases Mexico, Canada tariffs again as markets slide
speed read The president suspended some of the 25% tariffs he imposed on Mexican and Canadian imports
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Has Starmer put Britain back on the world stage?
Talking Point UK takes leading role in Europe on Ukraine and Starmer praised as credible 'bridge' with the US under Trump
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Left on read: Labour's WhatsApp dilemma
Talking Point Andrew Gwynne has been sacked as health minister over messages posted in a Labour WhatsApp group
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
New Year's Honours: why the controversy?
Today's Big Question London Mayor Sadiq Khan and England men's football manager Gareth Southgate have both received a knighthood despite debatable records
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
John Prescott: was he Labour's last link to the working class?
Today's Big Quesiton 'A total one-off': tributes have poured in for the former deputy PM and trade unionist
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Last hopes for justice for UK's nuclear test veterans
Under the Radar Thousands of ex-service personnel say their lives have been blighted by aggressive cancers and genetic mutations
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Will Donald Trump wreck the Brexit deal?
Today's Big Question President-elect's victory could help UK's reset with the EU, but a free-trade agreement with the US to dodge his threatened tariffs could hinder it
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
What is the next Tory leader up against?
Today's Big Question Kemi Badenoch or Robert Jenrick will have to unify warring factions and win back disillusioned voters – without alienating the centre ground
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
What is Lammy hoping to achieve in China?
Today's Big Question Foreign secretary heads to Beijing as Labour seeks cooperation on global challenges and courts opportunities for trade and investment
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published