New NHS transparency drive launched by government

The government has announced the launch of a new package of measures to establish an open and honest reporting culture within the NHS.

As part of this, Sir Robert Francis – who led the inquiry into failings at Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust – will chair a new independent review into the health service's reporting culture and how frontline staff can be supported to raise concerns.

Meanwhile, an NHS Choices safety website will be launched to provide broad access to an unprecedented range of safety data, while a new campaign called Sign Up to Safety will encourage trusts to devise plans to improve their own performance.

Currently, the vast majority of NHS hospitals are rated as good or OK for their reporting culture, but the government believes further improvements can and should be made.

Health secretary Jeremy Hunt said: "We have come a long way since Mid-Staffordshire – however, there are too many cases where NHS staff who have raised concerns about safety have been ignored."

Sir Robert's previous report into the Mid-Staffordshire failings led to a number of changes in the way NHS is run, including the introduction of a legal duty of candour and the publication of safe staffing guidelines.