Unitesaid the government's response to the Francis inquiry into deaths at Mid Staffs NHS Trust “supplied no concrete solutions to ensure patient safety and how concerns can be raised in the future”.
The Government’s initial response, ‘Patients First and Foremost’, was presented to the Commons yesterday.
It includes new Ofsted-style ratings for hospitals and care homes overseen by an Independent Chief Inspector of Hospitals and Chief Inspector of Social Care.
There will also be a statutory duty of candour for organisations which provide care and are registered with the Care Quality Commission and a pilot programme which will see nurses working for up to a year as a healthcare assistant as a prerequisite for receiving funding for their degree.
Unitehead of health Rachael Maskell said:
“Jeremy Hunt has presented no evidence as to how putting nurses in training - just one profession in the NHS - into the healthcare assistant role will change the culture in the NHS.
“Healthcare assistants need to be recognised as a profession in their own right and regulated accordingly.
“There are issues of training, supervision and resources that need to be addressed if student nurses are going to spend more time on the frontline.
“The serious issues of creating an enabling culture to help NHS staff reach their potential was not addressed either by Hunt.
“He has also ignored the central thrust of the Francis report to enable patients and staff to whistleblow, without repercussions, and to guarantee that their concerns will be investigated and appropriate change enforced.
“There was also silence on how different agencies should share intelligence and identify trends in poor practice.
“Hunt's total failure highlights how this government's ideological journey not just shows he has missed the road signs, but is on the wrong journey altogether.”
Jeremy Hunt said:
“The events at Stafford Hospital were a betrayal of the worst kind.
"A betrayal of the patients, of the families, and of the vast majority of NHS staff who do everything in their power to give their patients the high quality, compassionate care they deserve.
“The health and care system must change. We cannot merely tinker around the edges – we need a radical overhaul with high quality care and compassion at its heart.
“I can pledge that every patient will be treated in a hospital judged on the quality of its care and the experience of its patients. They will be cared for in a place with a culture of zero harm, by highly trained staff with the right values and skills.
"And if something should go wrong, then those mistakes will be admitted, the patient told about them and steps taken to rectify them with proper accountability.”