NHS chief: 'I understand anger over Stafford Hospital'

A public inquiry into "appalling" failings within the Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust, believed to have contributed to the deaths of at least 400 patients, has called for a "zero tolerance" approach to poor standards of care in the NHS in England.

In his second highly critical report, Robert Francis QC called for sweeping changes to the culture and regulation of the health service, as well as measures to ensure that the primary focus be on patient care, not money and targets.

NHS Chief Executive Sir David Nicholson said he could understand the anger of those who had been affected.

''Apologies are not enough - we need action, we need to make things happen,'' he added.