'At least 400 may have died'

At least 400 people could have died needlessly at Stafford Hospital, according to shocking revelations.

An advance copy of a long-awaited report, leaked to the Press, claimed that hundreds of deaths over a three-year period could not be accounted for normally.

The advance Healthcare Commission report found that death rates were higher than they should have been "across a range of conditions" and put the figure down to "systemic problems" across Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust's system of emergency care.

And backing up scores of testimonies from Cure the NHS members, the final version of the report slams emergency care at Stafford Hospital as "appalling" and says there were deficiencies "at virtually every stage" in the care of people admitted as emergencies.

The Healthcare Commission investigators found no cause for concern at Cannock Chase Hospital.

Commission chairman Sir Ian Kennedy said: "This is a story of appalling standards of care and chaotic systems for looking after patients. There were inadequacies at almost every state in the care of emergency patients. There is no doubt that patients will have suffered and some will have died as a result."

The final report said problems which put patients "at serious risk" included:

* Patients being left for hours in soiled or wet bedding;

* Patients received the wrong medication – or none at all;

* The A&E department was understaffed and poorly equipped;

* A shortage of triage nurses led to receptionists assessing patients' injuries;

* Doctors were taken away from treating seriously-ill patients to those with minor ailments in A&E in order to avoid "breaching" the Government's four-hour target for waiting times;

* Essential equipment such as defibrillators were missing or not working;

* Accepted standards in infection control were not maintained.

The damning findings, described as "outrageous" by one healthcare campaigner, were revealed in the Healthcare Commission's report, which will be officially released tomorrow but was seen by the Express & Star today.

The early version said "at least" 400 deaths between 2005 and 2008 could not be accounted for by "other factors or by chance variation". And a source, described as being "close to the investigation" into the trust, said the true figure could be as high as 1,300.

The estimated figure of 400 unnecessary deaths is thought to have been removed from the final version of the Healthcare Commission report after concerns over the way it was calculated. However, the final version rejected the trust's claims that unusually high death rates at the hospital were down to the way data was being recorded and said no evidence was found to back it up.

The report also blamed cost-cutting, short-staffing and a drive to meet Government targets as the cause for the scandal.

Responding to the revelations, Julie Bailey, who founded campaign group Cure the NHS after the death of her mother in Stafford Hospital, said: "It backs up what we've said about our relatives being left to die because of short-staffing and saving costs."

Trust's chief executive Martin Yeates resigned a fortnight ago, along with trust chairman Toni Brisby. Conservative MP Bill Cash said the situation at Stafford Hospital was "a matter of grave concern and disturbance" to members of his constituency in Stone.

Mr Cash, who wrote to the Healthcare Commission with his concerns, said he had not seen the document but believed it condemned the hospital management "in a whole range of matters".

He said: "What we have to do now is look to the future and have a complete radical shake-up. There are some wonderful staff, there is no doubt about that, and we've got to get back to bringing the hospital to the highest possible standards."

Interim chief executive Eric Morton said: "The report has highlighted instances where care standards fell below those that our patients had a right to expect of their hospital and we regret this. We would like to take this opportunity to offer our very sincere apology. We would like to reassure the local community that our focus is, and will remain, on providing high quality, efficient and safe healthcare for the people of Staffordshire."

Mr Morton said that the report had "clearly outlined" the "challenges the trust had faced since 2005.