NHS errors 'deliberately hidden' - Telegraph Many senior executives who were in charge at the time refused to give evidence to the committee, which has left "crucial questions unanswered," their report adds. NHS Croydon's former chief executive Caroline Taylor, who has since been appointed as trust special administrator at South London Healthcare NHS Trust - the first ever NHS trust to be put into administration, was one of those who refused to answer questions by the committee - which is made up of members from six nearby local authorities. The committee, which was formed by members of Croydon Council alongside representatives from Kingston, Merton, Richmond, Sutton and Wandsworth, said Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt should "compel" Ms Taylor to answer questions about her time at the trust. Finance director Stephen O'Brien and interim deputy director of finance Mark Phillips also refused to answer questions, a spokesman said. Their report calls for the health authority which is now in charge of local health spending to review the qualifications of staff that have responsibility of budgets, after officials found that Mr Phillips, a former nightclub owner, "did not meet the qualification requirements for the role." They said that Mr Phillips was "running" the accounts at the trust while Mr O'Brien was on sick leave. Mr Hunt should allow local health scrutiny committees to have "extra powers" to compel NHS officials to cooperate with future investigations, the committee said, after just one NHS representative answered their questions. They said that such a move is important given that local authorities have wider remit in the health sector following the NHS reforms. Councillor Tony Arbour, from the London borough of Richmond, said that the review highlighted the "impotence" of scrutiny committees. Croydon councillor Jason Cummings, chair of the committee, said: "What has become clear from the committee's review is that the accounting errors were deliberately hidden. This was not the result of any system failure but a consequence of the action of individuals, who have still to explain their actions. We have been faced by a wall of silence from key witnesses in the NHS and subsequently there are still some questions that remain unanswered. In particular, we still don't know why the accounts were altered and whether patients had been directly affected. This cannot be right, and we now call on the Department of Health to carry out rigorous investigation and ensure the relevant officers can be publicly held to account. The public needs to have confidence in the NHS and be sure that their money is in safe hands. He added: "During this period of time the finances of NHS Croydon were being poorly run and the evidence would suggest that the money being spent on healthcare wasn't being spent efficiently or under proper control. Clearly this money hasn't been spent in a controlled manner and that can't have contributed positively to healthcare within Croydon. Councillor Ravi Govindia, from the London borough of Wandsworth, added: "This report has exposed a lack of transparency and accountability at the heart of the NHS, particularly when we are all grappling with a financial crisis. It is worrying as we move into a closer relationship with the health service. Edited for Telegraph.co.uk by Richard Holt