A coalition of 150 health and social care charities has called for urgent action to prevent another scandal like that at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust from happening.

The coalition, National Voices, published a report on 15 October to coincide with the planned publication date of Robert Francis QC’s second report into failures at the trust.1 That report has now been delayed until January next year.

The whole process of investigation and inquiry into the trust had taken too long, and NHS planners were continuing to “wait for further instructions” when they should have been taking steps to improve the safety and care of patients, said the charities. These …