NHS staff at Mid Staffordshire hospital guilty of neglect or abuse face jail David Cameron said the guilty will feel the 'full force of the law' The plan was recommended by patient safety expert Professor Don Berwick Up to 1,200 people may have died at Stafford hospital due to poor care Strong words: David Cameron said said doctors, nurses and hospital bureaucrats will feel 'the full force of the law' if they neglect or abuse patients under new legislation NHS staff who neglect or abuse patients will face five years in jail under new legislation designed to prevent a repeat of the Mid Staffordshire hospital scandal. David Cameron said doctors, nurses and hospital bureaucrats will feel "the full force of the law" if they mistreat those in their care. Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt will announce next week that the Government is to introduce a new criminal offence where someone is "guilty of wilful or reckless neglect or mistreatment." The plan was recommended in August by patient safety expert Professor Don Berwick, an adviser to Barack Obama. He was appointed after two reports by Robert Francis QC into unnecessary deaths at the Mid Staffordshire Hospital Trust. Up to 1,200 people may have needlessly died at Stafford hospital due to poor care between 2005 and 2009. Patients were left lying in their own excrement and so thirsty that they were reduced to drinking water from vases. The Francis report into the scandal found that box ticking bureaucrats prioritised targets over basic levels of care. The Prime Minister said: "This offence will make clear that neglect is unacceptable and those who do so will feel the full force of the law. The NHS is full of brilliant doctors, nurses and other health workers who dedicate their lives to caring for our loved ones but Mid Staffordshire hospital showed sometimes the standard of care is not good enough. That is why we have taken a number of different steps that will improve patient care and improve how we spot bad practice. Never again will we allow sub-standard care, cruelty or neglect to go unpunished. Current legislation makes individuals criminally responsible if they neglect children or the mentally ill. But under the new law - expected to come into force next year - that sanction will be extended to cover mistreatment of all patients. Tragedy: Up to 1,200 people may have needlessly died at Stafford hospital due to poor care between 2005 and 2009 Ministers will now consult over the scale of the punishments, but the Berwick Report suggested they should mirror those in the Mental Capacity Act 2005, which allows for fines, imprisonment for a maximum of five years, or both. Downing Street officials say the sanction is designed for those guilty of the most extreme types of poor care. Mr Cameron added: "This is not about a hospital worker who makes a mistake, but specific cases where a patient has been neglected or ill-treated." The proposal is part of a package of measures that will be set out by Mr Hunt that will include better protections for patients, more support for NHS staff and greater transparency so a spotlight is shone on the worst standard of care. Damning: The report by Robert Francis QC, pictured, published in February, found that box ticking bureaucrats prioritised targets over basic levels of care The Francis Report, published in February, made 290 recommendations but no-one faced prosecution. Mr Hunt said at the time: "It's outrageous that potentially more than a thousand people lost their lives because of poor care and not a single person has been brought to book. It is absolutely disgraceful with all those things happening, whether it is doctors, nurses or managers, nobody has been held to account. Other key proposals from the Berwick Report include improving staff to patient ratios, greater transparency and better complaints procedures for patients. Mr Hunt, who has also called for greater protection for whistleblowers, will reveal which other recommendations he will adopt on Tuesday.