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Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust

The hon. Gentleman will know that action has been taken in respect of Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. He may not be aware that further steps are being taken against Tameside hospital NHS foundation trust in Greater Manchester. Where action needs to be taken in order to intervene, we are taking that action. I should repeat to him the view of the Care Quality Commission, which is that there is no evidence to suggest that problems of this magnitude are replicated elsewhere in the NHS. I also say to him that I am not complacent on these issues: how could one ever be? Since what happened in Bristol, we can say with some confidence that we have, with the support of those on the Opposition Benches, begun a process whereby we are shining a spotlight on data in the NHS that in times past simply were not available. A wealth of data are now available to inform the public about standards at any particular trust. Many of the data are available on the NHS Choices website, but they can be improved so as to build a better understanding and appreciation of the picture at any trust. The hospital standardised mortality ratio—the HSMR—is not, in and of itself, a verdict on a trust; it is a trigger in respect of whether further action is required. As we have said today, we need further understanding of that target and an improvement of its methodology so that it is clearly understood across the NHS.