Anger as NHS trust faces no charges over hospital bug deaths

No charges will be brought over a string of failures at an NHS trust which led to 90 deaths from Clostridium difficile (C diff), sources said today.

Kent Police and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have been investigating whether prosecutions should be brought within Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust over the outbreak of the hospital bug.

Poor staffing, dirty wards and too much focus on debts and Government targets all contributed to two serious outbreaks of C diff in 2005 and early 2006, a Healthcare Commission investigation found.

Geoff Martin of campaign group Health Emergency said: "This sends out completely the wrong signal. It suggests that despite more catastrophes in the NHS. individuals and organisations will not be called to account.

"It is a real kick in the teeth for the friends and relatives of those who died in this tragedy."

Former Bucks Fizz singer Cheryl Baker, whose mother-in-law Doreen Ford died at Maidstone Hospital after contracting C diff, described the death as "legalised killing".

She said today: "My mother-in-law died in Maidstone Hospital, she caught C diff in Maidstone Hospital, I believe that Maidstone Hospital is to blame. Someone must be held responsible.

"I would be very interested to hear of the outcome of today's meeting."

An official announcement will be made at the Hilton Hotel, Maidstone, later this morning.

It would be highly unusual for the HSE to bring a prosecution against an individual in a case of this kind, as most of its action is against corporate defenders.

Steve Stroud, husband of former Bucks Fizz singer Cheryl Baker, said he was "disgusted" with the decision.

His 77-year-old stepmother, Doreen Ford, died in Maidstone Hospital after contracting the C diff bug.

Mr Stroud said: "This is disgusting. Someone has got to be held to account over all these deaths and if it is not the hospital trust, then who the hell can it be?

"Someone really should have to carry the can over this... for no charges to be pressed is really disgusting. I can't believe it".

Earlier Miss Baker described the death of her mother-in-law as "legalised killing".

She said: "My mother-in-law died in Maidstone Hospital, she caught C diff in Maidstone Hospital, I believe that Maidstone Hospital is to blame. Someone must be held responsible".

Before the scale of deaths emerged, the trust's former chief executive Rose Gibb left Maidstone and Tunbridge NHS Trust by mutual consent.

The trust said that she would receive half her annual salary as pay-off, reputed to be up to £150,000.

Today, she said: "You need to talk to the chief executive of Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, not myself."

The move to give her a payment was seen as a blow to Health Secretary Alan Johnson, who stepped into the row and ordered the trust to withhold Ms Gibb's severance payment while seeking legal advice.

Then it emerged through her union, Managers in Partnership (MiP), that Ms Gibb would continue to fight for the full amount.

Earlier this year it was disclosed that legal papers had been lodged at the High Court as Ms Gibb attempted to claim damages following her departure.

The move prompted criticism from relatives of some of the victims, who insisted any available money should be directed towards them to compensate them for their losses.

The commission's report found a shortage of nurses meant wards and washing facilities were filthy and patients were left to lie in their own excrement.

The body's chief executive Anna Walker said the trust was so focused on meeting Government targets and dealing with high levels of debt that it failed to deal properly with the bug.

Quick and easy alcohol wipes, which do not kill C diff, were used to clean toilets rather than soap and water, which does eliminate the bug.

The hospitals involved in the scandal were the Kent and Sussex Hospital, Pembury Hospital and Maidstone Hospital.

The trust was also the subject of an undercover BBC investigation in May 2004 - months before the 2005 and 2006 outbreaks of C diff.

It found evidence of blood stains ingrained on the floor and clinical waste skips containing bags full of old dressings and bodily fluids left open in corridors used by visitors and patients.