The Inquiry examined the commissioning, supervisory and regulatory bodies involved in the monitoring of Mid Staffordshire hospital between January 2005 and March 2009. It considered why the serious problems at the Trust were not identified and acted on sooner, and identified important lessons to be learnt for the future of patient care. It builds on Mr Francis’s earlier report, published in 2010 after the earlier independent inquiry on the failings in the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust between 2005 and 2009.

The Inquiry identifies a story of terrible and unnecessary suffering of hundreds of people who were failed by a system which ignored the warning signs of poor care and put corporate self interest and cost control ahead of patients and their safety. The report makes 290 recommendations designed to change this culture and make sure patients come first by creating a common patient centred culture across the NHS