Fiddling with figures a crime
It will become a criminal offence for NHS care providers and senior managers to submit misleading data, under plans released by the government in response to the Francis Inquiry.
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NHS CB tries to spot further Mid Staffs’
The NHS Commissioning Board has ordered an immediate inquiry into the five hospitals that show up as outliers on the NHS’ current mortality indicator.
News

It’s big, but is it clever?
Robert Francis’ final report into the Mid Staffordshire scandal is huge, but will its impact be in proportion to its size, asks Lyn Whitfield.
Feature

Francis call for standards backed by law
Robert Francis QC has called for the publication of a list of fundamental standards defining basic NHS care at the end of his long inquiry into the scandal at Mid Staffordshire Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
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Francis calls for records and open data
Robert Francis QC has backed investment in electronic patient records and the wider publication of NHS data at the end of his inquiry into the scandal at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust.
News

Indicators and placards
The Mid Staffs scandal has already left one legacy, in the form of a new mortality indicator for the NHS. But questions remain about how it is constructed; and how useful trust-level indicators are, anyway. Lyn Whitfield reports.
Feature