Stafford Hospital prosecution impossible says HSE
A successful prosecution of Stafford Hospital under health and safety laws was impossible, the Francis Inquiry has been told by Geoffrey Podger, chief executive of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
A successful prosecution of Stafford Hospital under health and safety laws was impossible, the Francis Inquiry has been told by Geoffrey Podger, chief executive of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
He said the agency decided not to pursue a prosecution because it would not be able to gather the evidence needed. He added that the HSE needed to be involved at an earlier stage of investigations into poor care and it had tried to achieve this over the years with little success.
He said it was not the fault of the HSE that it did not know about the Healthcare Commission investigation into Stafford Hospital until 2009.
He told the inquiry: "HCC reports were not well argued or well corroborated.
"We were concerned at the way these reports were done. They wouldn't stand up in court and didn't meet our standards."
On the subject of prosecuting Stafford Hospital, he said: "The decision not to investigate Mid Staffs was not taken on the basis of resources.
"There was no prospect, from everything we knew, of gathering the evidence to mount a successful prosecution. The conclusion was right and inevitable."
