PM to announce Stafford Hospital probe

David Cameron is expected to announce this week a long-awaited full public inquiry will be held into failings at Stafford Hospital.

The news has delighted campaigners who had been pressing for the in-depth probe into years of neglect at the hospital which may have contributed to the deaths of hundreds of patients.

Julie Bailey, head of Cure the NHS, which was set up by families affected by the hospital's neglect, is heading to Westminster on Wednesday with other campaigners and hopes to thank the Prime Minister in person.

It is believed that Mr Cameron has bowed to demands from relatives of those who died in the care of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust.

He visited Cure the NHS's headquarters in Stafford and assured campaigners he would grant a public inquiry if he was elected to power.

Today Mrs Bailey said: "It does appear now that Mr Cameron is going to grant a public inquiry. This is what we have been campaigning for.

"A public inquiry will mean witnesses will have to swear on oath unlike the previous inquiry. We hope the truth will finally be revealed.

"There has been negligence at the hospital since 1992 when concerns were first raised about the standard of care in a CHI report. At last we hope the truth will finally be revealed. It is what we have all been fighting for."

An independent inquiry by Robert Francis QC in February found the safety of sick and dying patients was "routinely neglected".

Others were subjected to "bullying", "inhumane treatment" and "abuse" with patients left unwashed and in pain.

Hospital inspectors concluded that between 400 and 1,200 more patients had died than was normal. The chaos and dirt on the wards had allowed lethal bugs such as MRSA and C.difficile to flourish.

Anger deepened when it emerged that chief executive Martin Yeates left with a £1million pension pot, six months' salary and a reported pay-off of up to £400,000. He did not even give evidence to the earlier inquiry, claiming ill health.