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Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust

The Secretary of State has made it very clear that he is taking legal advice. Sadly, that is not going as fast as people in the Department, and certainly Ministers would like. However, the Secretary of State is taking advice and meeting regularly with the strategic health authority and chief executives to address all of the other concerns that the right hon. Member for Tonbridge and Malling rightly raised in his contribution. We cannot take this matter more seriously, because the most serious errors have taken place in Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust. I assure Members that the Secretary of State is working very closely, on a daily basis, with everybody, in order to bring these very sorry events to a conclusion, and to move on in the most positive way possible. Many measures have been put into place in Maidstone to improve systems for monitoring all infections, which of course have to be in place in all trust and primary care trusts. In particular, I take note of the right hon. Gentleman's comments about community trusts and community beds. I assure him that I shall go back to the Department and check up on that. I would be very happy to discuss my findings with him. We have reviewed nurse staffing levels and are recruiting to enlarge nurse staffing numbers on wards. As a former nurse, it is beyond my comprehension how such a level of infection could take place in 2007. I accept that they are operating in very poor conditions, and I accept the point about the speed of the reconfiguration, and emphasised it to the Secretary of State, who is working very hard to address it. We have extended cleaning in all clinical areas. Of course, we have relaunched the ““Clean Your Hands”” campaign. I am aghast that we have to do that, but we do, across the board, from the most senior medical consultants down to the most junior members of staff.