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• professional and geographic isolation

• failure to act on data or information that showed cause for concern

• the absence of a culture of openness

• a lack of willingness to learn from mistakes

• ineffectual governance and assurance processes. In many cases Trust Boards were unaware of problems discovered by the review teams

• patients being left on trolleys, unmonitored for excessive periods and then being talked down to by consultants

• poor maintenance in operating theatres, potentially putting patients in danger

• patients often being moved repeatedly between wards without being told why

• staff working for 12 days in a row without a break

• blood being taken from patients in full view of the rest of the ward

• low levels of clinical cover – especially out of hours.

Higher mortality rates do not always point to deaths which could have been avoided but they do act as a ‘smoke alarm’ indicator that there could be issues with the quality of care. That’s why I was asked to carry out a “deep dive” inspection of the care and treatment being provided by each of these Trusts.

Not one of these trusts has been given a clean bill of health by my review teams. These reviews have been highly rigorous and uncovered previously undisclosed problems. I felt it was crucial to provide a clear diagnosis, to write the prescription, and, most importantly, to identify what help these organisations might need to support their recovery or accelerate improvement.

Mediocrity is simply not good enough and, based on the findings from this review I have set out an achievable ambition which will help these hospitals improve dramatically over the next two years.

• Each hospital will be required to implement the recommendations of the Keogh review, with external teams sent in to help them do this. Their progress will be tracked and made public;

• The Trust Development Authority or Monitor will assess the quality of leadership at each hospital, requiring the removal of any senior managers unable to lead the improvements required; and

• Each hospital will be partnered with high-performing NHS organisations to provide mentorship and guidance in improving the quality and safety of care.

We have taken swift and tough action to make sure these hospitals are given all necessary support to improve. All 14 must fulfill all the recommendations made by Sir Bruce’s review and all will be inspected in the next year by the new Chief Inspector of Hospitals, Professor Sir Mike Richards.

I can announce that 11 hospitals will be placed into special measures to improve patient care. This means that they must implement all of the recommendations and external support will be provided to help them do this. The quality of leadership will be assessed and any senior managers who are not up to the job will be removed. And each hospital will be partnered with high performing NHS organisations to act as mentors.

Under the new rigorous inspection regime led by the Chief Inspector of Hospitals, if a hospital is not performing as it should, the public will be told. If a hospital is failing, it will be put into special measures with a limited time period to sort out its problems.

We owe it to the three million people who use the NHS every week to tackle and confront mediocrity and inadequate leadership head on. I would like to sincerely thank Sir Bruce and his team for their extremely difficult and thorough work.

• Making demonstrable progress to reducing avoidable deaths in hospitals

• Patients and clinicians will have confidence in the quality of assessments made by the CQC, not least because they will have been active participants in inspections

• No hospital will be an island – professional, academic and managerial isolation will be a thing of the past

• Nurse staffing levels and skill mix will appropriately reflect the caseload and the severity of illness of the patients they are caring for and be transparently reported by Trust boards

• Patients will not just feel like they have been listened to but will be able to see how their feedback is impacting on their own care and the care of others

1. The reports can be found here.

2. For further enquiries, please contact the Department of Health Media Centre on 020 7210 5707 / 5896 / 5738 / 4939. Regional media should call the regional team on 020 7210 5724 / 4984.

3. The 14 hospitals are: Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust, Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Tameside Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust, Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Burton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust, The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust, Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, Medway NHS Foundation Trust.