Fear and loathing in the NHS: exploring quality of care

The recent allegations regarding the quality of care in the NHS have made headline news. The most recent, the Mid Staffordshire Inquiry (2010), was the result of a successful campaign by the Cure the NHS group, who have suggested a Blueprint for the new NHS (2012).

Poor hospital care is not new. In 1863, Florence Nightingale declared that ‘…the first requirement in a hospital is that it should do the sick no harm’ (Nightingale, 1863). Moving ahead 150 years, the depressing recent Francis report outlined the results of the public inquiry into the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust’s serious mishandling of patient care. This second report into the care at Mid Staffordshire (Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Enquiry, 2013) highlighted appalling standards of care, such as patients left for long periods in soiled bedding, patients left without help for eating, patients not assisted in toileting, despite several requests, and patients treated callously and indifferently.