A HOSPITAL criticised for failing standards has been told it must make further improvements as part of its registration with the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The CQC has granted licences to 66 NHS trusts so far allowing them to provide a service under a new, tougher regulatory system.

But Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Stafford and Cannock hospitals, has been told "further urgent improvements" are needed following concerns about the safety and quality of care offered to patients.

Only one other NHS trust, in Milton Keynes, has had conditions placed on it.

In February, an independent inquiry into Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust found it "routinely neglected" patients and displayed "systemic failings".

A probe was launched into events after a report last March from the CQC's predecessor, the Healthcare Commission, revealed a catalogue of failings at the trust.

Appalling standards put patients at risk and between 400 and 1,200 more people died than would have been expected in a three-year period from 2005 to 2008, the Commission said.

If trusts fail to meet standards, the CQC has stronger enforcement powers than before, including being able to give warning notices and fines.