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Manager swap will ‘rescue failing hospitals’

Manager swap will ‘rescue failing hospitals’
19 September 2013



Top NHS managers will be sent into failing hospitals in an attempt to improve them, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has announced. 
Bonus payments will be given to trusts which manage to raise their standards. 
The 11 trusts which were put into special measures following Sir Bruce Keogh’s review into hospitals with high mortality rates will be twinned with more successful hospitals where a “handful of inspirational leaders” are “happy to help”. 

Top NHS managers will be sent into failing hospitals in an attempt to improve them, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has announced. 
Bonus payments will be given to trusts which manage to raise their standards. 
The 11 trusts which were put into special measures following Sir Bruce Keogh’s review into hospitals with high mortality rates will be twinned with more successful hospitals where a “handful of inspirational leaders” are “happy to help”. 
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today progamme, Hunt said: "Generally, successful hospitals attract good people and we are looking to find a way to get these good people to other hospitals."
Dame Julie Moore, chief executive of University Hospitals Birmingham, is one of the managers expected to take part in the scheme. 
She said: "I don't think we're talking about upping sticks and abandoning our home base."
The plan would be more focused on around sharing knowledge, she told the BBC. 
Professor 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."

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