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Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust

I thank the hon. Gentleman again for the manner in which he has helped us address these issues; his courtesy is always appreciated. I entirely agree that confidence is the key issue. This is another difficult day for the hospital, but I believe that from today the trust can begin to move forward, because we have now inquired fully and in depth at the local level. I believe the trust is making progress under Antony Sumara and Sir Stephen Moss; that is reflected in the report and in the reports that I hear locally from Stafford, and we need to do everything we possibly can to support them. There are 140 extra staff at the trust, and it has received about £4.5 million from the West Midlands strategic health authority. Support is going into the trust, therefore. We are considering whether we should initiate a process of de-authorisation, but we would only do so because we may be able to get more support more quickly to the trust, in order to build the confidence that the hon. Gentleman rightly calls for.