'No more rewards for failure': England's hospitals to be named and shamed under government plans

ITV News Health Correspondent Rebecca Barry explains the government's plans to publicly identify failing hospitals

Failing NHS hospitals in England will be named and shamed in league tables and managers sacked if they cannot improve patient care and take control of finances, the health secretary has announced.

During the NHS Providers conference in Liverpool, Wes Streeting told leaders there “will be no more rewards for failure” as he set out a package of measures aimed at tackling poor performance.

Streeting said: “We are announcing the reforms to make sure every penny of extra investment is well spent and cuts waiting times for patients.

“There’ll be no more turning a blind eye to failure. We will drive the health service to improve, so patients get more out of it for what taxpayers put in."

He called out the "guilty secret of poor performance amongst NHS senior leaders" and warned there will be "no more rewards" for those failing their trusts, staff and patients.

NHS England will undertake a “no holds barred” review of its performance with the aim of producing public league tables that rank NHS Trusts on a range of indicators such as finances, delivery of services, patient access to care and competency of leadership.

Under the government plans, these tables will be regularly updated and managers who persistently fail will be denied pay rises or replaced.

Turnaround teams will be sent to trusts that have big financial deficits or are offering patients a poor service.

Poorly performing hospitals will be named and shamed, meanwhile, the best NHS performers will be given more control over spending to help modernise their buildings, equipment and technology.

The Department of Health argues this will benefit top-performing trusts as under the current system there is little incentive for trusts to run budget surpluses as they are unable to benefit from them.

NHS leaders have expressed concerns that the move could demoralise staff, with Nuffield Trust's chief executive, Thea Stein, accusing ministers of “falling for the appealing notion of a magic productivity tree which will make the NHS more efficient just by shaking the magic tree harder.”

Ms Stein said: “We know from the special measures for quality regime that naming and shaming NHS trusts can make it harder to recruit staff, which doesn’t help patient care at all."

NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard said: “While NHS leaders welcome accountability, it is critical that responsibility comes with the necessary support and development.

“The extensive package of reforms, developed together with government, will empower all leaders working in the NHS and it will give them the tools they need to provide the best possible services for our patients.”

The health secretary said: “The Budget showed this government prioritises the NHS, providing the investment needed to rebuild the health service.

“Our health service must attract top talent, be far more transparent to the public who pay for it, and run as efficiently as global businesses.

“With the combination of investment and reform, we will turn the NHS around and cut waiting times from 18 months to 18 weeks.”

A new pay framework for very senior managers will be published before April next year, with those who do well given financial rewards.

The deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, Saffron Cordery, said the scale of the challenge facing NHS leaders was “huge” and they were “pulling out all the stops to boost productivity while delivering tough efficiency measures”.

She added: “It’s vital we take decisive action to tackle the deep-rooted causes of pressures on the health services including the lack of resources for public health, prevention and social care, chronic workforce shortages, financial shortfalls and historic under-investment in the bricks and mortar of the NHS which underpin so many of the challenges we face today.

Nuffield Trust's chief executive Ms Stein expressed concerns about what the league tables will measure: “A table based on general waiting times doesn’t add much if you need to know how good heart surgery is.

“Many of the drivers of poor productivity are systemic, from the dire state of social care stranding people in hospital, to crumbling roofs and worsening population health.

“They happen across England. Which trust is worst affected is often a matter of luck and history as much as leadership.

“We need a system that encourages leaders to go to the most difficult and challenged trusts to improve patient care, not one that rewards them for choosing easier places to work."

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Streeting will also told Wednesday’s conference how NHS trusts could be banned from using agencies to cover staffing gaps such as healthcare assistants and cleaners, in a bid to cut the £3 billion a year spent on agency workers.

Those NHS staff who leave permanent jobs could also be stopped from coming back into the health service through expensive agencies.

Rachel Power, chief executive of the Patients’ Association, said: “The focus on tackling poor performance and rewarding excellence sends a clear message about raising standards across the NHS.”

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