HSE has charged Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust following a thorough and comprehensive investigation into the circumstances of four deaths of patients under its care.
Wayne Owen, HSE Principal Inspector in the West Midlands, said:
“We have concluded our investigation into the death of four patients at Stafford Hospital and have decided there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest to bring criminal proceedings in this case. “There are four separate charges, each alleging a breach under Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act.”
Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust is due to appear before Stafford Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 4 November 2015 for the first hearing in this case. The Trust remains in place as a legal entity but no longer provides patient services.
The four charges relate to the following:
- Lillian Tucker died at Stafford Hospital on 21/10/2005 aged 77 years
- Ivy Bunn died at Stafford Hospital on 06/11/2008 aged 90 years
- Edith Bourne died at Stafford Hospital on 22/07/2013 aged 83 years
- Patrick Daly died at Stafford Hospital on 13/05/2014 aged 89 years
Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 states that every employer has a duty to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who may be affected by the conduct of his undertaking are not as a result exposed to risks to their health and safety.
