THE Department of Health has confirmed Basildon Hospital will be partnered with London's Royal Free Hospital.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has paired up failing hospital trusts with successful ones as part of a bid to turn around the fortunes of 11 hospitals currently in special measures, including Basildon.

Mr Hunt said: "Turning special measures hospitals round is my top priority as Health Secretary.

"For too long, patients have had to put up with poor care because it was inconvenient to expose and tackle failure.

"So today I am committing to total transparency on progress in these hospitals, and to leave no stone unturned in our mission to turn them round."

Top managers will be drafted in from the Royal Free who will set about making changes on the ground at Basildon.

Mr Hunt added: "In place of the old approach of paying management consultants to analyse the problems, we are giving contracts to the best in the NHS to implement solutions they have tried and tested.

"With the help of inspiring NHS leaders and their teams from our leading hospitals, I am confident that we can get these hospitals out of special measures and on the road to recovery."

Clare Panniker, chief executive at Basildon Hospital, said: “We welcome our partnership with the Royal Free, and to learning from any best practice they can share with us.

"We believe we are making significant improvements to improving patient care.”