An independent inquiry has delivered its final report on Stafford Hospital, described as having appalling standards of care.

The inquiry was launched after a damning report last March from the Healthcare Commission revealed a catalogue of failings at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, which also runs Cannock Chase Hospital.

Appalling standards of care put many patients at risk, and between 400 and 1,200 more people died than would have been expected in a three-year period from 2005 to 2008, the commission found.

Today a spokeswoman for the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Independent Inquiry said: “The independent inquiry into care provided by Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust January 2005 to March 2009 has delivered its final report to the Secretary of State for Health as set out in the inquiry’s terms of reference.”

The chairman of the inquiry, Robert Francis QC, a specialist in medical legal issues, sparked anger among many relatives of patients who died when he ruled that the probe should be held in private. Members of the Cure the NHS campaign group, which has repeatedly called for a full public inquiry, protested outside during the final day.