I was told by a senior member of the medical profession that the two Francis inquiries were the most important look at the NHS for
at least two decades. He was right. The first, which was commissioned by the previous Government, revealed what Robert Francis describes as the
“appalling suffering of many patients”
primarily caused by a serious failure on behalf of the trust board, which did not listen sufficiently to patients or staff and failed to tackle an insidious negative culture involving a tolerance of poor standards. The second report, from the public inquiry commissioned by my right hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr Lansley), described how
“a system which ought to have picked up and dealt with a deficiency of this scale failed in its primary duty to protect patients and maintain confidence in the healthcare system.”
It is a tribute to those who fought long and hard against the odds to have the inquiries and reports instituted by the last two Governments that their importance is recognised.