Responding to a speech by the Secretary of State for Health and
Social Care at Conservative Party Conference, the chief executive
of NHS Providers, , said:
“It is understandable that the secretary of state, who played a
key role in securing a welcome and significant increase in
funding for the NHS, will want to ensure this money is well
spent.
“It is also understandable that the secretary of state wants to
ensure trusts are well led.
“Trust leaders are deeply committed to improving care, reducing
variation and cutting waste.
“It is this outstanding frontline leadership that enabled the
health service to respond so well to the unprecedented challenges
posed by the pandemic. That leadership will be tested again as we
head into what promises to be the toughest winter ever for the
NHS.
“What must not be forgotten though, as we embark upon another
review of NHS leadership, is that there is already a robust
regulatory framework in place which holds trust leaders to full
account including scope to replace leaders on the rare occasions
this is necessary.
“We must not forget either that the small number of trusts who
are currently subject to formal regulatory intervention usually
face a range of significant structural difficulties such as
operating on multiple dispersed sites, inadequate capital
investment and difficulty in recruiting staff. These issues are
not solved by changing senior leaders.
“Trust leaders deserve support, encouragement and recognition of
the complex and difficult work they are doing. They will
therefore welcome the clear statement that the review will focus
on identifying and spreading leadership best practice.”
