Wes Streeting (Image: Getty)
NHS managers who cover up mistakes face the sack under tough measures to be announced by Health Secretary Wes Streeting this week.
It comes after warnings that hospital bosses silenced senior doctors who feared killer nurse Lucy Letby might be responsible for the deaths of babies on a neonatal unit.
Retired Det Ch Supt Nigel Wenham last week told a public inquiry that paediatricians at the Countess of Chester Hospital “did raise concerns repeatedly but, sadly, they were shut down”.
Letby, 34, is serving 15 whole-life jail terms after she was convicted of murdering seven infants and attempting to murder seven others.
Mr Streeting will set out plans to regulate health service managers, ensuring those who fail to follow professional standards can no longer work in the NHS.
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The changes are designed to tackle a “culture of cover-up” which has been found in several patient safety scandals. Ministers are determined to end the practice of failed NHS managers leaving one organisation and walking into top jobs in another part of the country.
Health Minister Karin Smyth said: “The truth is that the processes for stopping a failed manager leaving one trust in disgrace, only to pop up in another months later, are shamefully weak.
“There is no legal obligation for managers to be honest when things have gone wrong. That needs to change. We will bring this merry-go-round of failure to an end.”
A 12-week consultation beginning on Tuesday will consider options including a voluntary register of NHS managers or a full statutory scheme enforced by law.
The Department of Health and Social Care will also consult on whether to introduce a new professional duty of candour on managers.
Claims the NHS covers up mistakes have been raised in an inquiry looking into the deaths of 2,000 patients on mental health wards in Essex between 2000 and 2023.
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A Department of Health report into the state of the NHS by consultant surgeon Lord Darzi warned in September: “There are some deep cultural issues in the NHS that must be addressed. These include concealing problems and taking retaliatory action against clinicians who raise concerns.”
Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of NHS England, said: “It is right that NHS managers have the same level of accountability as other NHS professionals, but it is critical that it comes alongside the necessary support and development to enable all managers to meet the high-quality standards that we expect.”
Rachel Power, chief executive of the Patients Association, said: “Patients tell us that accountability and transparency is often lacking in their healthcare journeys.”