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divdiv class=story-body readability=18 span class=story-date#13; span class=date15 November 2013/span#13;span class=time-textLast updated at /spanspan class=time19:18 ET/span#13; #13;/span#13;#13; #13;#13;#13; #13; #13; #13; #13; p class=introduction id=story_continues_1Doctors and nurses found guilty of wilful neglect of patients could face jail, the government is proposing./p#13; pWilful neglect will be made a criminal offence under NHS changes to be unveiled next week following the Mid Staffordshire and other care scandals. /p#13; pThe offence will be modelled on one punishable by up to five years in prison under the Mental Capacity Act./p#13; pDoctors' leaders said the threat of criminal sanctions could create a climate of fear in the NHS./p#13; pThe government's proposals are due to be unveiled next week./p#13; pPrime Minister David Cameron said health workers who mistreated and abused patients would face the full force of the law in a package of measures./p#13; span class=cross-headExtended law/span#13; pA consultation on what scale of sentence should be applied to the extended law will be carried out over the next few months by the Department of Health./p#13; pThe move was one of the central recommendations of a review of patient safety commissioned by ministers after findings that hundreds suffered unacceptable treatment at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust./p#13; pIt was led by Professor Don Berwick, a former adviser to US president Barack Obama, who said the measure was needed to target the worst cases of a couldn't care less attitude that led to wilful or reckless neglect or mistreatment./p#13; pMr Cameron said: The NHS is full of brilliant doctors, nurses and other health workers who dedicate their lives to caring for our loved ones./p#13; pBut Mid-Staffordshire hospital showed that sometimes the standard of care is not good enough. That is why we have taken a number of different steps that will improve patient care and improve how we spot bad practice./p#13; pNever again will we allow substandard care, cruelty or neglect to go unnoticed./p#13; pThe British Medical Association said the move could make it more difficult for doctors and nurses to speak out against their colleagues if they thought they would go to jail as a result./p#13; /div/divbrbrcentera href=http://www.wizardrss.comPowered By WizardRSS.com/a | a href=http://www.wizardrss.comFull Text RSS Feed/a | a href=http://www.amazon.com/RFID-Blocking-Cards-Identity-Protector/dp/B00CJHZLEWRFID/a | a href=http://www.wpzonbuilder.comAmazon Affiliate/a/center