Stafford Hospital scandal: Why prosecution is the right thing to do

A hospital that fails so seriously that people die needlessly must be held accountable.

Justice has to be seen to be done.

But here is the problem as I see it.

The scandal at Stafford Hospital was fuelled by reckless cost cutting as managers coveted prestigious Foundation Trust status.

Not only did it give them greater powers – it allowed them to award themselves generous pay rises.

Staffing levels were reduced to criminally low levels. That fuelled a culture of bullying and fear ruled the wards.

Corners were cut and failings covered up.

The NHS here had lost its heart.

It was a disease that emanated from the top brass and infected those beneath them.

Remarkably, two of the deaths under these new charges occurred in 2013 and 2014. How have the problems of the past been able to go on?

Despite the damning findings of the two Francis Inquiries – not one senior manager has faced any meaningful sanction.

It should not just be the now-defunct organisation in the dock – the directors who presided over this scandal should be too.

They have never had the gumption to stand up in public and account for their actions.

As well as those who lost their lives, there have since been further victims. The hospital has been allowed to wither and die with a skeleton service now in its place in Weston Road.

These further victims are the people of Stafford who have had their right to receive major treatment in their town heartlessly taken away.

And who will pick up the cost of any fine imposed by the court? You guessed it...you!

Unless former bosses are duly punished, the prosecution of Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation trust serves as nothing but a phoney attempt at justice.