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Reorganisation may have led to failings being missed at Stafford Hospital, inquiry hears

BMJ 2011; 342 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.d2599 (Published 20 April 2011) Cite this as: BMJ 2011;342:d2599
  1. Clare Dyer
  1. 1BMJ

Unnecessary deaths in hospital are an “uncomfortable truth,” the head of the NHS watchdog the Care Quality Commission has told the public inquiry into failures of care at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust.

Cynthia Bower, now chief executive of the CQC, the body tasked with ensuring patient safety and standards in the NHS, told the inquiry into serious failings at Stafford Hospital that mistakes happen in hospitals.

She was giving evidence about her role between 2006 and 2008 as chief executive of NHS West Midlands, the strategic health authority that missed crucial chances to spot that things were …

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