Stafford Hospital inquiry cost soars to £3 million

The bill for the public inquiry into standards of care at Stafford Hospital has soared to more than £3 million.

Taxpayers are having to pay the costs of the investigation into the failures of the wider NHS to protect patients at the hospital.

The inquiry began holding daily evidence sessions at the civic centre in Stafford in November.

Under figures released by the inquiry, the total cost to the public purse stands at £3.18m. The figure is likely to increase significantly as the hearings continue.

November last year is so far the most expensive month, costing taxpayers almost £929,900, with the biggest single cost being legal services totalling £688,250. Other key costs include staffing at £113,950, running costs of £19,850 and IT services coming in at £56,500.

The cost of hiring the inquiry venue and offices from Stafford Borough Council stands at £49,150 each month, with communication costs of £2,200 in November.

Costs in December totalled £601,500, while January's bills have so far reached £107,400, although this is expected to increase.

Meanwhile, a former governor at Stafford Hospital has admitted she was naive and told the public inquiry governors were misled by bosses at the hospital. Christine Woodward, who served on the board of governors for Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust from 2007 to 2009, also accepted the governors were not strong enough in holding bosses to account.

Mrs Woodward gave evidence yesterday to the Francis Inquiry and she apologised for not being better at finding out what was happening at the hospital.

Mrs Woodward, who has also served as a Rugeley town councillor, told the inquiry governors did not know enough about their powers and relied on information given to them by bosses at the hospital.

She said that when concerns over patient care surfaced governors were "placated" by reassurances by former chief executive Martin Yeates. She said governors would often request information which was not provided by hospital directors.

Asked if governors were naive by inquiry counsel Ben Fitzgerald, she replied: "I think a bit, yes, including me. We weren't strong enough, we should have been stronger.

"I'm as guilty, I guess, as any of the other governors that we were in some way placated and given enough confidence that it was all right."

She added that although she thought both Martin Yeates and Toni Brisby were dedicated to the hospital she said: "I feel we were very badly let down by Martin Yeates and in consequence, I suppose, Toni Brisby, on reflection, equally because she would have known what was going on more intimately with Martin and the board of directors than we did."