worse than the NHS average on two-thirds of the findings (19 of them), and was in the lowest 20% of trusts in almost half of the findings (13 of them). In April 2014 it was reported that the hospital was likely to record a deficit in the region of £600,000 to £700,000 for the year ending 31 March 2014 and in July 2014 Hinchingbrooke Hospital was referred to the Secretary of State for Health for failure to meet their statutory duty to break-even financially. The hospital made an offer in September 2014 to pay local GPs a £50 'administrative fee' for surgery referrals in an email, signed by Hinchingbrooke chief executive Hisham Abdel-Rahman, which was rapidly withdrawn when the company was accused of bribery. A visit by inspectors from the Care Quality Commission in September 2014 highlighted severe issues with patient care: inspectors observed that "staff treat patients in an undignified and emotionally abusive manner" and they spoke to patients who had been "told to soil themselves". In November 2014 Jenny Raine the chief financial officer left. UNISON called for Circle to be 'sacked', claiming that papers tabled for the Board meeting in October - which did not include a financial report - showed the organisation faced (i) potential penalties of up to £200,000 per month for failure to meet targets for patients waiting longer than four hours in the accident and emergency department (ii) potential penalties for failing to reach electronic discharge summary targets which already stood at £138,000 and (iii) potential penalties of a further £150,000 for failing to increase the number of patients discharged at weekends. The Union said staff turnover was more than 13 per cent. In response Circle said: "We are a bit bemused as we haven't changed our financial forecasts for the year and Hinchingbrooke's clinical outcomes remain very strong." Withdrawal of Circle Health from the contract In January 2015 Circle Health announced that, because Hinchingbrooke Hospital was "no longer [financially] viable under current terms", it wanted to withdraw from operating the hospital under the exit terms of the contract. Later the same day it was revealed that the Care Quality Commission had recommended the Trust should be placed into special measures after it was rated 'inadequate' on the questions of whether it was caring, safe and well led. They had concerns about the Trust's leadership because both the Circle Health management team and