Key Summary
- Legislation is set to be put forward to Parliament next year to introduce professional standards and regulation of NHS managers
- Health secretary Wes Streeting said he wants to create a culture of honesty and openness in the NHS where whistleblowers are protected
- Patients Association chief executive Rachel Power welcomed the move and said NHS managers should be held to the same standards as clinical staff
In a move to strengthen the hands of whistleblowers, the government has announced that NHS managers who silence whistleblowers will be banned from taking up other senior health service roles.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said the proposals will ensure those who commit serious misconduct are prevented from taking up senior NHS management positions.
Legislation is set to be put forward to Parliament next year to introduce professional standards and regulation of NHS managers.
Unlike doctors and nurses, NHS managers are currently not covered under any regulatory framework.
Health secretary Wes Streeting said he wants to create a culture of honesty and openness in the NHS where whistleblowers are protected. He said the staff should be free to report if things go wrong.
"Most NHS leaders are doing a fantastic job, but we need to stop the revolving door that allows managers sacked for misconduct or incompetence to be quietly moved to another well-paid role in another part of the NHS," he said.
DHSC said a public consultation was launched in November last year on ways in which managers and leaders could be regulated, and they got more than 4,900 contributions.
Patients Association chief executive Rachel Power welcomed the move and said patients expect NHS managers "to be held to the same high standards as clinical staff."
Tom Kark KC of QEB Hollis Whiteman and author of the Kark Review, welcomed the Government’s decision to implement some of his suggestions.
“I am pleased that the recommendation made in my report into the application of the NHS Fit and Proper Person Test to create a power to disqualify Board Directors found guilty of serious misconduct is being implemented," he said.
"This is good news for whistleblowers and those looking for accountability in senior management, which has long been lacking," he added.
