NHS leadership set to change after reports of bullying

As reported by the BBC News, the health secretary has said that health and social care leadership in England will be overhauled after a review found evidence of bullying

Sajid Javid described the findings as “stark” and likened the NHS to the Blockbuster video rental shop.

“The NHS is absolutely fantastic, we all rely on it, but much of how it’s set up is a still very much 1948, we need to be thinking about 2048 and how we get from here to the needs of the British population when it comes to health in 2048,” Mr Javid later clarified.

The health secretary said between 11m and 13m people stayed away from the NHS during the COVID pandemic, but with many people now returning to services, demand was at “very high” levels.

He insisted the government had taken action, for example investing “record amounts” into ambulance trusts, £450m into emergency care services and increasing the number of call handlers for the 111 service.

Ahead of the full review, the Department of Health and Social Care has said that, while the reports highlighted examples of leadership, overall the report found “a lack of consistency”. It also “identified a lack of equal opportunity for managers to access training and colleagues to progress in their careers:.

Mr Javid has said he supported the review’s recommendations, which include:

• action to improve equality, diversity and inclusion
• clear routes to progression and promotion
• a simplified appraisal system to focus on how people have behaved, not just what they have achieved
• the development of consistent management standards through accredited training
• encouraging the best leaders and managers to take on the most difficult roles, so they are seen as “the best jobs rather than the most feared jobs”

Amanda Pritchard, NHS chief executive, said: “As this report recognises, leaders across the health service do a fantastic job in often very challenging circumstances.

“The NHS is a learning organisation – we welcome this report and are determined to do all we can to ensure our leaders get the support they need”.

The review into health service leadership follows a series of damaging NHS trust scandals, including horrific reports in April that more than 200 babies and nine mothers might have survived with better maternity care.