Responding to news that the Department of Health and Social Care will launch consultations on Tuesday to seek views on regulating health service managers and on a new professional duty of candour, the deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, Saffron Cordery said:

"The vast majority of managers in the NHS go to work every day determined to do the best they can for patients. Where there is misconduct by NHS managers, it is absolutely right they are held accountable for their actions.

"With patient safety at the heart of what trust leaders do, they will broadly welcome this consultation.

"While we wait to see the detail of the consultation, it’s clear that any of the proposals on the table must pass a series of litmus tests if they are to have the confidence of patients, staff, and the managers they seek to regulate.

"Alongside the critical focus on quality of care and patient safety, it is vital regulation is fair and equitable, proportionate and offers support and development for managers.

"Regulation must support a culture of openness that we know is critical to delivering consistently safe care. Crucially, regulation must be independent of both those being regulated, and of politics.

"The focus must be on accountability rather than blame and punishment.

"Given the scale of the task and what is at stake, it is essential that the consultation is thorough and that any outcomes are designed carefully and in partnership with NHS managers."