Hospitals must report 'near misses'

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has announced a raft of measures that form part of the government's response to the public inquiry into the Stafford Hospital scandal.

February's £13m Francis Inquiry, and this response from the government, are aimed at tackling some of the wider cultural problems revealed in the NHS when the problems at Stafford Hospital were made public.

In future doctors and nurses will have to report "near misses" which could have led to serious harm as well as actual incidents, and failure to report incidents swiftly will become a criminal offence.