Hospital inquiry cost £1.7m
The cost of the independent inquiry into the standards of care at the troubled Stafford Hospital was £1.7 million it was revealed today.
The cost of the independent inquiry into the standards of care at the troubled Stafford Hospital was £1.7 million it was revealed today.
A Freedom of Information request by the BBC has revealed that more than £500,000 was paid to solicitors and barristers taking part in the inquiry held at Staffordshire Technology Park in Stafford from October to January.
Stafford MP David Kidney today said it had been worth the cost to find out what had gone wrong.
"It is one more sad consequence of what went wrong that so much money has been spent on lawyers that would have been better spent on patient care," he added.
The inquiry, headed by Robert Francis QC, has been described as a failure by relatives and patients who suffered appalling care at Stafford Hospital.
Members of Cure the NHS, which first raised fears over care at the hospital, are still demanding a full public inquiry from the Government.
Conservative health spokesman Andrew Lansley has promised a Tory Government will call a public inquiry into Stafford Hospital within "a matter of days" if his party wins the General Election.A second stage inquiry announced by the Government has yet to begin.
