NHS has "lost its focus"

Senior doctors have warned the NHS has "lost its focus" and the scandal seen at the Mid-Staffordshire Trust could happen anywhere.

Medics from the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh said hospitals are being put under strain as a result of increases in the number of people who are admitted and the variety of health problems they are afflicted with, the Daily Telegraph reports.

Referring specifically to the failings at Mid-Staffordshire, the group said: "The contributing circumstances have the potential for this to occur in any hospital under pressure and leave no room for complacency."

Official reports into the standards at Stafford Hospital revealed that hundreds of patients died between 2005 and 2009 because of "appalling care".

In an editorial in the Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, the doctors said there is a need for the NHS to "foster a culture" where delivery of the best possible care is prioritised above all else.

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