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CQC has responded to the findings of the government inquiry into care at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust.

Jo Williams, CQC's interim chair said: “The experiences people describe in this report are deeply distressing and totally unacceptable. There is no excuse for the appalling care patients suffered in this trust and everything possible must be done to prevent this from ever happening again in any NHS trust.

“It is important to understand that the scale of change required in this organisation was very significant and was never, therefore, going to happen overnight. This is why we have been scrutinising the trust’s performance rigorously over the past 12 months.

“What we currently see is a picture of progress. But in the areas in which we have continuing concerns, we need to ensure that the trust delivers on what it says it is going to do. We need to see that these improvements are delivered on the ground for patients.

“With this in mind, our intention is to impose a number of conditions on the trust’s registration when the new system comes into force on 1 April. We will then carry out a detailed review of progress, listening with particular care to the views of patients, their family members and carers. We will not hesitate to use our new enforcement powers if essential standards are not in place.”

CQC said the new registration system being implemented on 1 April would make it a legal requirement for NHS trusts to meet the standards set out by the government.