Hospital crisis 'like Chernobyl', says health secretary Jeremy Hunt
Health secretary Jeremy Hunt has compared the Stafford Hospital scandal to Chernobyl and other international disasters as a turning point in safety culture.
Mr Hunt has pointed to tragedies including Chernobyl and the gas poisoning at Bhopal as moments that have sparked a huge change in practices.
The comments have been leaked ahead of a speech on Wednesday, where Mr Hunt will outline new safety measures in the wake of the hospital scandal. "We too, in the NHS, have had our turning point," he says.
"It was the appalling cruelty and neglect discovered to have happened between 2005 and 2009 at Mid Staffordshire.
"We now have the ability to make systematic changes on a national scale.
"We also have the priceless treasure of the values of hard working NHS frontline staff, all of whom are deeply committed to learning the lessons of Mid Staffs and making the care we deliver safer, more effective and more compassionate."
Between 400 and 1,200 patients are believed to have died unnecessarily between 2005 and 2009 at the hospital in Weston Road. It led to a public inquiry carried out by Robert Francis QC, which highlighted neglect and poor levels of care within the health service.
In his speech, being delivered at Seattle's Virginia Mason Hospital – considered one of the safest in the world – Mr Hunt will argue sub-standard care is more costly that high safety standards.
"Unsafe care is grossly inefficient," he says. "It wastes time as mistakes are corrected. It increases the length of stay. It means more complications, subsequent treatments and may lead to costly litigation."
