'Up To 13,000 Needless Deaths' In NHS Hospitals

Talking of the BBC's unique news priorities, the second story for ITV News at the moment is 13,000 'needless' NHS deaths: 

Some 13,000 patients may have died needlessly at hospitals since 2005, a report by the NHS medical director released next week will say. Sir Bruce Keogh will expose failings in the 14 worst trusts in England.

This is the story which the Daily Telegraph is leading on: 

13,000 died needlessly at 14 worst NHS trusts

The needless deaths of thousands of NHS patients will be exposed in a report this week.

The NHS’s medical director will spell out the failings of 14 trusts in England, which between them have been responsible for up to 13,000 “excess deaths” since 2005.

Prof Sir Bruce Keogh will describe how each hospital let its patients down badly through poor care, medical errors and failures of management, and will show that the scandal of Stafford Hospital, where up to 1,200 patients died needlessly, was not a one-off.

The report will also pile pressure on Labour over its handling of the NHS, with the Conservatives likely to seize on it to attack Andy Burnham, the shadow health secretary who was in charge of the NHS in England from June 2009 until May 2010. 

Sky News is also making it a main story:

'Up To 13,000 Needless Deaths' In NHS Hospitals

The scandal of sub-standard care in parts of the NHS is set to deepen when a damning report is released in the coming days.

The Mail also considers it a story of importance for its readers:

Doomed to die by the NHS: Devastating report to reveal thousands dying needlessly as 21 hospitals probed in scandal that eclipses Mid Staffs horror

Look for it on the BBC's home page, however, and you will find nothing about this. Yes, nothing. Look for it on their Health page, and you will also find nothing. 

A story that matters to most members of the public doesn't seem an urgent priority for the BBC to report. 

The BBC doubtless will report it in time, but why isn't it reporting the story now? Is it its alleged pro-NHS bias coming through again?


Update 18.00: Amazingly, it's still not a story that's registering on the BBC News website's radar - though, as B-BBC's Alan notes, BBC website readers could just about see the story (if they squinted, and borrowed a neighbour's binoculars) late this afternoon in a link to the Daily Telegraph on the site's Elsewhere on the Web section. It really isn't good enough, is it?