NEWS: Jeremy Hunt Backs Calls To Abolish NHS England

Former health secretary Jeremy Hunt has backed calls to abolish NHS England amid a suite of reforms to how the service is managed.

A new report from think tank Policy Exchange has argued for overhaul of NHS management structures, training and incentives to improve the system’s performance and productivity – as opposed to focusing on reducing or increasing management numbers.

The shadow chancellor said: “It is without doubt that effective management is a requirement if we want to deliver a high-performing and
more productive NHS…. we must look more closely at the skill sets and competencies we wish managers to develop.”

Greater focus on competencies, incentives and placement of NHS managers, rather than headline workforce numbers alone, must be
prioritised, the authors of the report, titled: ‘Just About Managing: The Role of Effective Management and Leadership in Improving NHS
Performance and Productivity’, argue.

They call for significant reforms to NHS bureaucracy, including abolishing NHS England – which leads the health service in England
commissions specialist services – and establish a management and oversight board in the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

Watchdogs such as the Care Quality Commission (CQC) should be reviewed, the report, based on 40 expert interviews, recommended, as
well as launching a new feedback and complaints service called NHS Patient View, to address the current “inconsistent” approach.

The review comes in the wake of Lord Ara Darzi’s independent review of the NHS, which saw Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer declare the health service must “reform or die”