24 February 2010
CQC believes Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust is safe to provide services. But it has also made it clear that the trust must address remaining concerns quickly.
On behalf of its patients, the trust must meet all the essential standards of safety and quality and the CQC will follow up robustly to ensure the trust improves in the areas that need further attention.
CQC and Monitor have strong powers of intervention and would not hesitate to take urgent action to protect patients if they thought this necessary.
The trust has made important progress since the period described in the Francis Report. Steps have been taken to address immediate risks to patients and the new leadership of the trust has responded positively. Patients should be keen for their trust to do better still.
It is important to understand that the scale of change required in this organisation was very significant and was never going to happen overnight. To track progress, the CQC is to carry out another detailed assessment, starting in March, and Monitor continues to hold the trust’s leadership to account for progress against its transformation plan.
Notes to editors
Find out more
Find out more about the Mid Staffs Inquiry.