Inquest move 'diversion' tactic

Campaigners say inquest details are to deflect from hospital death inquiry calls

The government's order for a coroner to release inquest details for patients who died at Stafford Hospital is a diversionary measure, campaigners said.

Coroner Andrew Haigh refused to give details to the Healthcare Commission, which criticised the hospital's high death rate and management in March.

The Ministry of Justice has since told Mr Haigh to release details on request.

But campaign group Cure The NHS said the government was trying to divert attention from calls for an inquiry.

Meanwhile, Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, has announced it has been decided to hold trust board meetings in public.

The government has said no public inquiry is necessary because the Healthcare Commission's report was sufficient.

It found that 400 more people died at the hospital than would have been expected between 2005 and 2008 and criticised "virtually every stage" of the hospital's emergency patient care.

This followed interviews with more than 300 current and former staff, patients and their families, as well as a detailed analysis of more than 1,000 documents and a review of 30 patients' case notes.

Inquest details

However Mr Haigh refused a request from the commission to release his inquest findings saying it would involve too much manpower.

Stafford MP David Kidney said he had received a letter from Jack Straw, the Secretary of State for Justice, confirming that Mr Haigh had now agreed to release the inquest details to families on request.

But Julie Bailey, of the Cure The NHS campaign group, which is calling for a public inquiry into the hospital, said she did not think the inquest details could address concerns about patient care at the hospital.

She added: "[The government] is just throwing sand in our eyes.

"People will think isn't it good they have had their cases looked at again, they don't need an inquiry, that's too expensive."

'Same day'

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said it did not have the power to tell coroners how to work.

"However, the department is helping with the sharing of information between the South Staffordshire coroner and the independent review being conducted by Professor Sir George Alberti and the coroner is happy to co-operate with the review," the spokesperson said.

The coroner was unavailable for comment.

Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust said at a meeting of the Council of Governors of the trust, David Stone, interim chairman announced that in future the trust board would also hold meetings in public.

In a trust statement, Mr Stone said: "Directors want the Trust Board to be more open and transparent to the community it serves and have decided to hold Trust Board meetings in public.

"The Council of Governors meetings are held in public, so we plan to hold the Trust Board meetings on the same day as the Council of Governors which is held four times a year."