Evidence of care shame 'shaky' claims ex-Stafford Hospital chief

A former Stafford Hospital chief has labelled evidence of poor care as "shaky" in a defiant appearance at a public inquiry into the scandal.

Ex-hospital chairman Toni Brisby downplayed the severity of what had happened at the hospital and suggested some families and relatives had got their facts wrong.

She told the Francis Inquiry she only resigned in 2009 because she was warned she would be removed.

The businesswoman, who took on the top job at the Mid Staffordshire Trust in 2004, said she would not have wanted to resign and that former chief executive Martin Yeates should have been able to continue efforts to improve the hospital.

Her evidence was condemned by campaign group Cure the NHS. Founder Julie Bailey said: "She has no insight and is clearly still in denial about what happened at the hospital."

Mrs Brisby gave evidence yesterday via a video link from solicitors offices in Birmingham after inquiry chairman Robert Francis QC accepted she was too unwell to give evidence in person at the inquiry.

It was revealed today that she has a Facebook site with a post from May that says: "Been running, happily, several times a week for 25+ years. Suddenly finding it very very hard to get motivated. Advice, anyone?"

Yesterday, Mrs Brisby told the inquiry: "I'm clearly never going to work in the NHS again. So in a sense I have nothing to lose from telling the truth.

"I apologise absolutely unreservedly to anyone who's received bad practice. It's not acceptable, but I equally think it's not acceptable to vilify a hospital the way

Stafford Hospital has been vilified on the basis of relatively shaky evidence from the Healthcare Commission."

Mr Tom Kark QC, counsel to the inquiry, asked if she accepted patients and relatives were telling the truth.

Mrs Brisby said: "I have no doubt that some people received poor care in the hospital. I don't think that's in question. I think people get their facts wrong."

She said it was a "myth" that 1,200 patients had died as a result of bad care.