MPs call for 'justice' over hospital

West Midlands MPs have demanded "justice" for their constituents after hundreds of patients died unnecessarily at Stafford Hospital because of appalling standards of care.

They argued it could only be delivered if the Government met their demands for an independent inquiry.

MPs from all political persuasions put their differences behind them in a united call for the full probe during a Commons debate last night, spearheaded by the Tories. But ministers once again turned down their appeals, insisting a public inquiry would be "time consuming" and "distract" the new management and staff from getting on with the job at hand to improve the quality of care at the hospital.

A vote on the Tory call for a public inquiry was defeated by 260 votes to 217, Government majority 43. The Conservatives, backed by Labour rebels including Stafford MP David Kidney, argued fiercely for the move during the heated three-hour debate.

Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley, Liberal Democrat health spokesman Norman Lamb and Stone MP Bill Cash also put forward the case for an inquiry during a debate which ran late into last night. However, when it came to a vote, the Tory call was defeated by 260 votes to 217. A Government motion rejecting the inquiry and claiming it could delay improvements was carried instead.

The inquiry call was supported by many cross-party Staffordshire MPs including Mr Kidney, Mr Cash and Lichfield MP Michael Fabricant. However, Cannock Chase MP Tony Wright said he would be abstaining from the voting.

Opening the opposition day debate, Mr Lansley said people deserved to know "not only what happened but why it happened" at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust to lead to the "appalling" standards found by the recent Healthcare Commission investigation.

He said two recent reports from Dr Colin Thome and Sir George Alberti had not given people in Staffordshire a "voice" and had failed to take into account all the issues surrounding the report into Stafford Hospital.

"This motion is not about criticising any individual, this motion is about establishing a public inquiry," Mr Lansley said.

"But I do not want anybody to think that in our doing so we have neglected the fact that one of the outcomes of such a public inquiry – and properly so – is to know whether some of the most senior people in the NHS, responsible for its services, have shown in the past that they are capable and credible in doing so."

Mr Fabricant said it was clear from press coverage, including in the Express & Star, that people in Staffordshire wanted an inquiry. However, health minister Ben Bradshaw said an inquiry would not be appropriate.

Pledging to defy the party whip on the vote, Mr Kidney said: "It broke my heart to read in the Healthcare Commission's report that patients were severely, appallingly let down by the NHS, let down by the local hospital."