Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust

[8] In May 2014, the trust drew up a £320,000 contract with Vanguard Healthcare Solutions to bring down the list of 400 patients waiting for cataract surgery.

They in turn sub-contracted to Kestrel Ophthalmics for the provision of a phacoemulsification machine, the hand pieces needed for surgery and the operating fluids and eye drops.

On 6 and 7 May, patients came to the Trust's casualty department with severe corneal decompensation and the performance of the contract was stopped on 9 May.

A report was produced in October 2014, which the trust claimed it wanted to publish but was advised not to do so for fear that it would be defamatory and open the hospital up to legal action.

[11] It was criticised by the son of one of the patients who demanded that an independent investigation should examine what risk assessments the hospital carried out before outsourcing the work, a topic not covered in the report.