NHS is shamed over cover-up

This was President Richard Nixon’s ultimate undoing. It has brought down countless politicians and public servants who had been economical with the truth. And it is why the CQC, the public watchdog, has become the latest regulatory body to be slated for not being “fit for purpose” following an inquiry into the preventable deaths of mothers and newborn babies at the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust.

If its failure to effectively monitor Furness General Hospital in Cumbria was bad enough, then a subsequent decision to destroy a critical internal report – which exposed the CQC’s failings – is even worse because the shameful officials concerned chose to protect their own reputations by jeopardising patient safety in an unforgivable dereliction of duty.

Pressures stemming from the inquiry into the Mid Staffs care scandal offer no excuse or justification – the CQC is supposed to defend the interests of NHS users and its powers-that-be should have alerted the Department of Health if it did not have sufficient resources to fulfil this vital function.

Yet, while Downing Street tried to reassure the public by pointing out how a new management team had taken over the CQC, and that three new chief inspectors had been appointed, this does not go far enough.

Even though the officials concerned are said to have left the Commission, this should not excuse them from further scrutiny and sanction. On too many occasions, NHS officials and other public servants have been allowed to leave their role before being held to account. This complacent buck-passing must change – and the family of little Joshua Titcombe, who died at Furness General Hospital in 2008, deserve nothing less after their tenacity and persistence uncovered a scandal that is beyond belief.

Held to account

LIKE the NHS where the culpability of public watchdogs like the Care Quality Commission has now been exposed, the same failures of regulation also apply to Britain’s banks that had to be propped up by an unprecedented bailout funded by the taxpayer.

If there had been sufficient checks and balances in place when the banking sector was deregulated, taxpayers would not be paying such a heavy price for the financial mismanagement which continues – to this day – to compromise Britain’s recovery prospects.

Yet, despite David Cameron and Ed Miliband both indicating their support for the introduction of a range of criminal sanctions that could see rogue bankers sent to jail, it is difficult to see how this move – a recommendation of the Commission on Banking Standards – will work in practice, despite its popular appeal.

Take HBOS, a once great Yorkshire institution that had to be rescued by the Lloyds Banking Group. While former chief executive James Crosby has now renounced his knighthood and a third of his pension, his successor Andy Hornby – and the bank’s chairman Lord Stevenson – still seem to be in denial about the scale of their failings.

The question will be establishing whether criminal responsibility begins with the bankers who signed off any financially flawed deal, their line manager or the board of directors. And that is before the courts assess the role of those City regulators – and politicians – who did not foresee this crisis. Should they, too, be in the dock?

While Mr Cameron and Mr Miliband’s responses reflect public opinion, they will not be forgiven if party politics deflects attention away from the task of implementing the Commission’s blueprint. As both have commended its work, the buck now stops with them.

A Hull of a result

HULL’S economic impetus is more than being matched by other efforts to raise the sporting and cultural profile of this evolving East Yorkshire city.

Not only will the newly-promoted Tigers visit Jose Mourinho’s cosmopolitan Chelsea multi-millionaires – the glamour fixture on the opening day of the 2013-14 season – but Hull is also in the running to be the UK City of Culture in 2017.

The significance of Hull’s shortlisting should not be under-estimated – the depth and breadth of its innovative and inspirational bid shows what can be achieved when the city’s leaders pull in the same direction.

It has also enabled residents of all ages to start to appreciate the significance of the city’s rich cultural heritage – the writer Philip Larkin remains the embodiment of this – and why contemporary ways are being found to tell great stories like the heroism of Amy Johnson and the hits of the Housemartins, with ways being sought to involve every community in these celebrations.

As such, the ingenuity of this bid – providing a vibrant tapestry that binds the past with the present and the future and promises of a lasting economic legacy – is such that the Department of Culture, Media and Sport should look no further than the banks of the Humber when Ministers come to make their final decision.