[4] It was heavily criticized in 2007 by the Healthcare Commission regarding its handling of a major outbreak of Clostridioides difficile in its hospitals from April 2004 to September 2006.
In a subsequent investigation by the Healthcare Commission the outbreak was connected to the financial reorganisations that the hospital trust was undergoing, such as its private finance initiative.
In this regard, Richard James, Professor of Microbiology at the University of Nottingham noted striking parallels with Stoke Mandeville hospital, which experienced a severe C. difficile outbreak in 2003–5.
He said evidence showed some of Cornish's actions had been “about as far from a gross negligence manslaughter case as it is possible to be” and called some of the arguments against the trust “perverse”.
[10][11] The trust commissioned an independent investigation, led by Sir Jonathan Michael, to review the case and to make recommendations for improvements.