We highlighted fears over hospital deaths years ago

Sadly, it will come as little comfort for the many hundreds of people who have lost loved ones when their deaths could and should have been avoided.

I remember travelling to London on a special Save Our Hospital battlebus to meet then health secretary Patricia Hewitt.

Our pleas that people would die needlessly because of the re-organisation fell on deaf ears. But at least some of us can sleep easy in our beds and say “at least we tried”. Others will not sleep so easily in weeks to come.