My hon. Friend is right. Not only did Mr Yeates leave with, I understand, a significant payout, but he went to work for a charity that was in receipt of Department of Health funds. I think that as a matter of urgency we should clarify the terms on which Mr Yeates left the NHS, what Ministers knew, and what senior officials—in particular, David Flory—were aware of at the time of his departure.
I fear that we are in danger of sending a confused message to staff and families of patients in the NHS. On the one hand we say that the culture needs to change, but on the other we say that the people who are responsible for that culture—the people who are paid significant sums to lead it—should stay.
My hon. Friend the Member for Totnes (Dr Wollaston) is absolutely right: there is much in our NHS that we should celebrate and of which we should be proud. However, we do it a disservice if we are not prepared to identify where it is going wrong, and to be transparent about the areas with high mortality and about the existing culture which has a chilling effect on those who are brave enough to speak out. Is it not informative that the one person who spoke out at the Bristol inquiry, and who did so much good, is the one person who has never worked in the NHS again?
I think that the challenge for the House today, and in subsequent weeks, is to ensure that this time it learns the lessons that were clearly not learnt then.
3.47 pm