Sir Robert Anthony Francis, KC (born 4 April 1950) is a British

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

. He specialises in medical law, including medical and mental health treatment and capacity issues,

clinical negligence Medical malpractice is a legal cause of action that occurs when a medical or health care professional, through a negligent act or omission, deviates from standards in their profession, thereby causing injury or death to a patient. The neglige ...

and professional discipline.Denis Campbell The Guardian, (30 January 2013
Robert Francis QC: the man behind the NHS Mid Staffs report
theguardian.com; accessed 11 January 2018. He has appeared as a barrister for and chaired several high-profile inquiries into medical controversies/scandals. He qualified as

Bachelor of Law Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

(LL.B) (Hons) at

Exeter University , mottoeng = "We Follow the Light" , established = 1838 - St Luke's College1855 - Exeter School of Art1863 - Exeter School of Science 1955 - University of Exeter (received royal charter) , type = Public , ...

. He has been a barrister since 1973 and became a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

in 1992. He is a

Recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...

(part-time

Crown Court The Crown Court is the court of first instance of England and Wales responsible for hearing all Indictable offence, indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals lied to it by the Magistrates' court, magistrates' court ...

judge) and authorised to sit as a deputy High Court Judge. He is a governing

Bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher can ...

of the

Honourable Society of the Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and W ...

, where he has chaired its Education and Training Committee.Sarjeants Inn Chambers Clinical Negligence & Healthcare
serjeantsinn.com; accessed 11 January 2018.

Notable inquiry work as barrister

He appeared as a barrister in inquiries for various

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

scandals: * investigation on behalf of the GMC over the activities of the disgraced

gynaecologist Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences, spelling differences) is the area of medicine that involves the treatment of women's diseases, especially those of the reproductive organs. It is often paired with ...

Richard Neale. He was struck off in 2000 after botching operations on women for more than a decade. * the

Alder Hey organs scandal The Alder Hey organs scandal involved the unauthorised removal, retention, and disposal of human tissue, including children’s organ (anatomy), organs, during the period 1986 to 1996. During this period organs were retained in more than 2,000 ...

Alder Hey Children's Hospital Alder Hey Children's Hospital is a children's hospital and NHS foundation trust in West Derby, Liverpool, England. It is one of the largest children's hospitals in the United Kingdom, and one of several specialist hospitals within the Liverpool ...

in Liverpool, report published on 30 January 2001 * the

Bristol heart scandal The Bristol heart scandal occurred in England during the 1990s. At the Bristol Royal Infirmary, babies died at high rates after cardiac surgery. An inquiry found "staff shortages, a lack of leadership, ... unit ... 'simply not up to the task' ... ...

Bristol Royal Infirmary The Bristol Royal Infirmary, also known as the BRI, is a large teaching hospital situated in the centre of Bristol, England. It has links with the nearby University of Bristol and the Faculty of Health and Social Care at the University of the Wes ...

, report published on 18 July 2001

Notable inquiry work as chairman

He chaired various independent inquiries: * the care of Michael Stone who murdered Lin and Megan Russell, report published in 2006Jonathan Brown The Independent (6 February 2013
Robert Francis QC: the patient's champion behind Mid Staffs NHS Trust report
independent.co.uk; accessed 11 January 2018. * on behalf of

NHS London NHS London (or "London Strategic Health Authority") was a strategic health authority of the National Health Service in England. It operated in the London region, which is coterminous with the local government office region. The authority closed ...

, the care and treatment of Peter Bryan and Richard Loudwell at

Broadmoor Hospital Broadmoor Hospital is a high-security psychiatric hospital in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England. It is the oldest of the three high-security psychiatric hospitals in England, the other two being Ashworth Hospital near Liverpool and Rampton Secure ...

, report published in September 2009 * the first Stafford hospital inquiry report published on 24 February 2010 * the full public Stafford Hospital scandal inquiry The inquiry began on 8 November 2010 and published on 6 February 2013.

More recent events

On 27 November 2013, it was announced that he had become the president of the

Patients Association The Patients Association is an independent charity operating in the UK that aims to improve patients' experience of healthcare. Established in 1963, it became a registered charity in 1991. The Patients Association works with patients directly: ...

. On 4 June 2014, it was announced that he had become a non-executive board member of the

Care Quality Commission The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care of the United Kingdom. It was established in 2009 to regulate and inspect health and social care services in England. I ...

. On 14 June 2014, it was announced that he had been knighted in the

2014 Birthday Honours The 2014 Birthday Honours were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part of ...

. On 24 June 2014, it was announced that he would be chairing an NHS

whistleblowing A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...

review, the

Freedom to Speak Up Review The Freedom to Speak Up Review was a review into whistleblowing in the NHS in England. It was announced on 24 June 2014 and it was chaired by Sir Robert Francis. The review was originally expected to report in November 2014 but took longer because ...

. The report was published on 11 February 2015. On 19 September 2018, it was announced that he would be the new Chair of Healthwatch England. On 14 June 2021, it was announced that he would lead a compensation framework study for those impacted by Contaminated Blood.

Publications by Francis

* ''Medical Treatment: Decisions and the Law'' (co-author, 2001, 2nd edition 2010)

References

External links