The former Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust has today pleaded guilty to charges brought under health and safety legislation relating to four patient deaths.
The Health and Safety Executive announced it would prosecute the trust last month after an investigation following the publication of the Francis report in 2013.
The trust, which now exists only as a legal entity after being dissolved as a provider of services in November 2014, pleaded guilty via its lawyer at Stafford Magistrate’s Court.
It now faces the prospect of a substantial fine after the district judge decided to send the case to the Crown Court.
Three of the cases involved patient falls while a fourth involved a patient who was given a fatal dose of penicillin despite hospital staff being alerted that they were allergic.
The patients who died were:
- Patrick Daly, 89, who died in May 2014;
- Edith Bourne, 83, who died in July 2013;
- Ivy Bunn, 90, who died in November 2008; and
- Lillian Tucker, 77, who died in October 2005.
The case was adjourned for sentencing at Stafford Crown Court.
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