Views of trusts must be heard in response to regulation of NHS managers
06 February 2019
- The review of the Fit and proper person test carried out by Tom Kark QC is published.
- It recommends that all directors (executive, non-executive and interim) should meet specified standards of competence to sit on the board of any health providing organisation. Where necessary, training should be available.
- It recommends that a central database of directors should be created holding relevant information about qualifications and history.
- A number of recommendations set out in the review have been accepted by the government, while others have been folded into the wider workforce review being led by the NHS Improvement chair, Baroness Dido Harding.
Responding to Kark review, the chief executive of NHS Providers, Chris Hopson said:
“NHS trusts and their leaders understand that they have a duty to ensure patient safety and provide high-quality care. As this review notes the great majority of trust leaders are doing an “outstanding job” though we recognise that a very small number have failed in their duties.
It is regrettable that the government has chosen to accept a number of the recommendations without proper consultation with trusts who will be most affected.
“The fundamental principle which lies at the heart of trust governance is that the unitary board is responsible for everything that happens in the trust, including the appointment of directors and oversight of their conduct, so the proposals set out here are significant and potentially far-reaching. It is regrettable that the government has chosen to accept a number of the recommendations without proper consultation with trusts who will be most affected. We will seek to ensure their views are fully and properly heard.
“Trust board directors have a difficult and complicated set of responsibilities. We owe it to them to listen to their views and carefully think through any changes to the environment in which they operate. There is a danger of failing to do that here.”