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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Top NHS managers 'to rescue failing hospitals' | Top NHS managers 'to rescue failing hospitals' |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Managers from top-performing NHS hospitals are to be sent into failing ones in England to try to improve them. | Managers from top-performing NHS hospitals are to be sent into failing ones in England to try to improve them. |
| Bonus payments will be available to trusts if standards are raised at failing sites, in a move that echoes the "super-heads" scheme for schools. | Bonus payments will be available to trusts if standards are raised at failing sites, in a move that echoes the "super-heads" scheme for schools. |
| Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said there were a "handful of inspirational leaders" who were "anxious to help". | Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said there were a "handful of inspirational leaders" who were "anxious to help". |
| Labour said what the hospitals needed was more nurses on the ground. | Labour said what the hospitals needed was more nurses on the ground. |
| Eleven trusts were put in special measures in July following a review into trusts with high death rates. | Eleven trusts were put in special measures in July following a review into trusts with high death rates. |
| Ministers will set out later how those 11 trusts will be twinned with more successful hospitals. | Ministers will set out later how those 11 trusts will be twinned with more successful hospitals. |
| 'Anxious to help' | |
| Mr Hunt said that management consultants had been favoured in the past, but they had only identified problems - rather than solving them. | Mr Hunt said that management consultants had been favoured in the past, but they had only identified problems - rather than solving them. |
| He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The problem is making actual changes on the ground. | He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The problem is making actual changes on the ground. |
| "Generally, successful hospitals attract good people and we are looking to find a way to get these good people to other hospitals." | |
| Though he acknowledged the risk of diverting successful managers from their own hospitals, he said that managers' posts would be back-filled. | |
| He added: "These people are anxious to help us turn around these failing hospitals, they want to play their part." | |
| Dame Julie Moore, chief executive of University Hospitals Birmingham, is one of the managers expected to take part. | |
| She told the BBC: "I don't think we're talking about upping sticks and abandoning our home base." | |
| Instead, the plan would be more focused on around sharing knowledge and expertise, she said. | |
| Dame Julie added there was a "dying breed of smaller isolated hospitals" which did not have the infrastructure and flow of new staff that larger, more modern hospitals had. | |
| 'Management solution' | |
| The 11 trusts were placed in special measures after a review by NHS medical director Prof Sir Bruce Keogh. | The 11 trusts were placed in special measures after a review by NHS medical director Prof Sir Bruce Keogh. |
| Prof Chris Ham, chief executive of the King's Fund think tank, said: "Bringing in experienced NHS managers has huge potential as long as they are given enough time to bring about change and have enough resources, and, crucially, their own hospitals are able to have the right leadership while their focus is elsewhere." | Prof Chris Ham, chief executive of the King's Fund think tank, said: "Bringing in experienced NHS managers has huge potential as long as they are given enough time to bring about change and have enough resources, and, crucially, their own hospitals are able to have the right leadership while their focus is elsewhere." |
| He added that previous attempts to use the skills of managers at successful trusts had led to performance at those organisations being dragged down as hospitals were "much more complex than schools". | He added that previous attempts to use the skills of managers at successful trusts had led to performance at those organisations being dragged down as hospitals were "much more complex than schools". |
| He said: "We've got to get the detail right - it's got to be a long-term objective. | |
| "In principle if we get it right, it will level up standards, if we get it wrong it could level down standards." | |
| Shadow health minister Jamie Reed said: "This is a management solution, not a front-line solution. | Shadow health minister Jamie Reed said: "This is a management solution, not a front-line solution. |
| "What Keogh revealed was that many of these trusts have lost staff in recent years and what they need is more nurses on the ground." | "What Keogh revealed was that many of these trusts have lost staff in recent years and what they need is more nurses on the ground." |
| Mr Hunt agreed that understaffing was "one of the problems" in these hospitals. However, he insisted: "It's not just that, it's about leadership, culture, training... To get that right you need to have the right people leading the hospital." | Mr Hunt agreed that understaffing was "one of the problems" in these hospitals. However, he insisted: "It's not just that, it's about leadership, culture, training... To get that right you need to have the right people leading the hospital." |
| Sir Bruce was asked to look at standards of care at the 14 trusts with the worst death rates, following the Stafford Hospital scandal. | Sir Bruce was asked to look at standards of care at the 14 trusts with the worst death rates, following the Stafford Hospital scandal. |
| Among the problems identified were: | Among the problems identified were: |
| But Sir Bruce said while the failings were significant they had found nothing on the scale of the Stafford Hospital, where hundreds suffered neglect and abuse. | But Sir Bruce said while the failings were significant they had found nothing on the scale of the Stafford Hospital, where hundreds suffered neglect and abuse. |
| The 11 trusts in special measures are: | The 11 trusts in special measures are: |