Stafford Hospital: Mid Staffs NHS Trust fined £500,000 for deaths of four patients

Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, which no longer provides clinical services, was also ordered to pay more than £35,000 in costs after admitting four charges brought by the Health and Safety Executive.

Sentencing the defunct trust at Stafford Crown Court, High Court judge Mr Justice Haddon-Cave said widespread systemic failures within the organisation had "become the norm" at the time of the deaths.

A hearing held on Tuesday was told that the trust's inadequate measures to protect patients caused the deaths of Lillian Tucker, Ivy Bunn and Patrick Daly.

Opening the case against the trust, prosecutor Bernard Thorogood said Mrs Tucker, 77, was injected with penicillin despite her and her relatives' repeated warnings that she was allergic to the antibiotic.

Mrs Bunn, 90, and 89-year-old Mr Daly died after suffering falls following poor care, including failures to carry out risk assessments and put in place control measures.

A fourth vulnerable patient - 83-year-old Edith Bourne - also died following a fall but pathological evidence could not conclusively connect mistakes in her care to her death.

Mr Daly died at Stafford Hospital in May 2014, a fortnight after the Mid-Staffordshire trust was fined £200,000 for similar failings at the same court.

Mr Justice Haddon-Cave also passed sentence following the 2014 prosecution of the trust, which followed the "wholly avoidable" death of diabetic Gillian Astbury, who was not given insulin.

Imposing the latest fine, the judge likened the penalty to a "financial revolving door" because the trust has no funds, meaning the Department of Health will settle the amount owed on its behalf.

Addressing relatives of the four patients who died, the judge praised their quiet dignity throughout the proceedings.

He told the court: "I hope today brings some closure and finally draws a line under the past, and that Stafford and Cannock Hospitals can open a new and bright chapter and become the hospitals that their dedicated staff and local communities can once again be proud of."

The Mid Staffordshire trust, which is set to be dissolved next year, was criticised by a public inquiry for the "routine" neglect of patients between 2005 and 2009.

The special administrator of the Mid Staffordshire trust, Tim Rideout, welcomed the findings of the HSE's criminal inquiry.

Mr Rideout said: "On behalf of the trust I would like to apologise unreservedly for the shortcomings which have come to light and to place on record our sincere contrition and remorse.

"It is well known that between 2004 and 2009 there were serious problems associated with the delivery of services to many patients at Stafford Hospital.

"There is no doubt in my mind that the historic problems at Stafford Hospital, resulting in the inquiries by Robert Francis QC and the publicity associated with them, had a significant adverse impact upon the ability of the trust to recruit, retain and motivate competent staff in the years following.

"Today, Stafford Hospital, now named County Hospital, is run by a different organisation entirely, providing very different services."