Court ruling is another blow to local hospital trust

4.05.44pm UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 11th Apr 2006

Local people have no way of holding managers to account

Commenting on the fine of £100,000 of Southampton Universities Hospitals NHS Trust, Eastleigh MP Chris Huhne said:

"This has been a very regrettable case from beginning to end. When the Crown Prosecution Service has to take action against part of the National Health Service for failing to supervise its staff, what this is really telling us is that there is not enough local accountability to the local people who use the service.

"The first democratically elected politician in charge of the National Health Service in Southampton as everywhere else is Patricia Hewitt, the Secretary of State for Health. Local people simply have no way of holding managers to account for their decisions and mistakes, and that is the real problem that needs to be put right.

"I have no doubt that the Hospital trust will have learned the lessons of this case, but it is disappointing that trust was dragged through the courts in this way when there should a proper system of local accountability. The taxpayer simply ends up subsidising lawyers to transfer public money from one budget to another.

"Ordinary people who use NHS services everyday should be able to hold those in charge to account. This tragic event took place almost six years ago yet it is only now that a final judgement has been reached".