NHS watchdog boss defends Stafford Hospital scandal role

The boss of the NHS watchdog the Care Quality Commission has said "unnecessary deaths" in hospital are an "uncomfortable truth."

Cynthia Bower, chief executive of the agency which is designed to maintain safety and standards in the NHS, told the public inquiry into failures at Stafford Hospital, that mistakes did happen in hospitals.

Mrs Bower was giving evidence about her role as the head of the West Midlands Strategic Health Authority, which missed crucial chances to spot the problems at the hospital.

She was questioned on why a serious incident involving the death of patient Gillian Astbury, who was not given vital insulin medicine which ultimately caused her death, did not spark an investigation.

She said: "However tragic this particular incident, mistakes are made, people do die unnecessarily in hospital, however uncomfortable a truth that is."

She said the Strategic Health Authority would look for a trend of incidents before taking action.

But inquiry chairman Robert Francis QC pointed out one incident could represent "extremely deep-seated systemic problems."

Mrs Bower told the inquiry she was not made aware of anything that made the hospital stand out as a problem.

She said: "I wasn't conscious at the time there was intelligence that we could have put together that would have said there were major failings of care."

She added that the failure of the health authority to find and listen to patients and carers was "the biggest signal we missed."

She said the Strategic Health Authority was created at a time of disruption and did not have "the capacity" to manage all services.

Her comments angered campaign group Cure the NHS which has demanded she resign.

Julie Bailey, founder of the group, said: "All she needed to do was open one of the ward doors and smell there was a problem."

Mrs Bailey, whose mother died in the hospital in 2007, added: "She should never have been given the job at the Care Quality Commission. It is reward for failure again in the NHS."