ON Thursday morning, we sat down with the deputy chief executive of Princess Alexandra Hospital, Prof Nancy Fontaine, to discuss the recent Care Quality Commission (CQC) report which rated the hospital as “Inadequate” and placed it in “special measures”.

On reflection, we are wondering whether we gave Prof Fontaine as hard a time as we just wonder where the “blame” lies? Indeed, is it a matter of apportioning blame?

And if we are, is it fair to target a hospital, physically years beyond its sell by date, with over 30,000 people going to A and E each week, covering an area not just go Harlow but of 250,000 more people across Essex and Hertfordshire?

So, have a look at the interview and judge for yourselves. And yes, over time, we will get round to the other key partners and see where they are in the scheme of things.