Morecambe Bay NHS Health Trust is placed into special measures after quality of care found to be 'inadequate'

There were a total of 415 deaths at Morecambe Bay in excess of the expected norm between 2010 and 2012 (Getty)

A health trust – previously the subject of a scandal over excess deaths, including up to 16 babies – has been placed into special measures after the quality of care was found to be “inadequate”.

England’s Chief Inspector of Hospitals, Professor Sir Mike Richards, said the nurses and doctors at the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust remained “a fundamental concern” with too much reliance on temporary staff.

Between 2010 and 2012, there were a total of 415 deaths at Morecambe Bay in excess of the expected norm, including as many as 16 babies.

Sir Mike said: “There is a long history of concern with the quality of service provided by University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust – so it is disappointing to report that a number of the issues that have been identified in the past remain unresolved.”

The trust’s chief executive, Jackie Daniel, said the trust was “part-way through a process of significant improvement which is still going to take a number of years to complete”.