MANAGEMENT consultants who carried out a controversial £150,000 investigation into the treatment of elderly people at a Hampshire hospital have refused to say whether their report should be made public.

London-based Verita would not even say if it thinks Hampshire Primary Care Trust, which commissioned the inquiry, got value for money.

Verita was called in after a spate of complaints about the treatment of elderly patients at Fordingbridge Hospital led to the closure of Ford Ward in October 2007, and the suspension of three nurses.

The PCT has confirmed that Verita’s investigation cost the trust £150,000, but it has refused to release the report, claiming that making it public would breach the rights of staff and patients named in the document.

Instead, it has published only a brief summary in which it accuses staff of “unacceptable behaviour” and cites a “culture of insensitivity” which, it says, developed at the hospital.

The decision not to release the full document has come under fire from New Forest West MP Desmond Swayne and the Patients’ Association.

The trust has rejected the Daily Echo’s application to release the report under the Freedom of Information Act, but the newspaper has asked it to review the ruling.

Prof Jonathan Montgomery, the organisation’s chairman, has defended the decision to use the firm.

“Verita were chosen to conduct the investigation as they have a long-standing history of investigating similar incidents in the NHS and could offer a team with a range of legal and clinical skills,” he said.

“During their ten-month-long investigation, Verita undertook 60 in-depth, one-to-one interviews with staff, managers and other local stakeholders.

“Verita also triangulated information from the interviews with other sources of information to ensure consistency.”

Prof Montgomery said the probe was “more rigorous” than any internal investigation would have been.

He added: “We believe the £150,229 investment in the independent investigation was entirely justified in order to safeguard the welfare of patients.”

A Verita spokesman said: “Our report fully met the terms of reference agreed with Hampshire PCT.

“It is up to the PCT to decide whether it got value for money and how to communicate the review’s findings and recommendations.”