The nursing director of the new organisation charged with making sure all NHS providers become foundation trusts was criticised at the Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust inquiry, it has emerged.
The NHS Trust Development Authority has announced Peter Blythin as its nursing director.
Mr Blythin was director of nursing at NHS West Midlands from 2006 until last year. The strategic health authority was responsible for overseeing Mid Staffs as it attempted to become an FT, and as its care scandal developed.
The inquiry heard he “apparently failed to inject any urgency” into a critical review of nursing levels at Mid Staffs.
Counsel to the enquiry Tom Kark said in December 2011: “The time lag between [Mid Staffordshire nursing director Helen Moss] first expressing to him concerns about nurse staffing and her presentation of the review to the trust board was about eight months. We ask, should he not have been more proactive than he was?”
It also emerged at the inquiry that Mr Blythin had told it he was not aware of a serious incident involving the death of a diabetic. It emerged he received an email about it, but said he had not opened an attachment which contained the detail.
Mr Kark also said at the inquiry he was “clearly an experienced and caring individual”.
Authority chief executive David Flory said in a statement his senior team – including Mr Blythin – “bring a wealth of knowledge, expertise and experience”.
5 Readers' comments