Hospitals that put patients at risk face court

HOSPITALS are facing criminal prosecutions for putting patients at risk, a watchdog has warned.

The Care Quality Commission is considering legal action against several trusts whose patients have been harmed.

It was given powers to prosecute NHS trusts in 2015 following the Mid Staffordshire scandal, in which up to 1,200 patients died as a result of poor care.

In March, the CQC used these powers for the first time by prosecuting Southern Healthcare Trust after a patient fell off a roof. The trust pleaded guilty and will be sentenced in October.

But Professor Sir Mike Richards, the CQC’s chief inspector of hospitals, said: ‘Others are under consideration.

‘Almost certainly you will see further prosecutions. One of the purposes is to act as a deterrent on others. This is something we see as particularly egregious that we want the NHS to tackle.’