Senior NHS bosses should be regulated – Letby inquiry
Regulating senior hospital managers could improve patient safety, a public inquiry into the crimes of nurse Lucy Letby has heard.
Giving evidence on Tuesday, Dr Alan Clamp, chief executive of the Professional Standards Authority (PSA), told the inquiry that steps still needed to be taken to “increase the accountability of NHS managers”.
The PSA oversees the work of 10 regulators of people who work in health and social care such as doctors, nurses, pharmacists, dentists and social workers.
Dr. Clamp’s suggestion mirrors the recommendation that was made in the 2001 Bristol Royal Infirmary Inquiry report into failures in pediatric heart surgery in the 1980s and 1990s.
Letby, 35, was transferred to clerical duties in July 2016 after consultant pediatricians in the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital were concerned she might deliberately harm babies.
The Thirlwall Inquiry heard that hospital bosses chose to launch a series of reviews over increased mortality at the unit in 2015 and 2016, shortly before asking Cheshire Constabulary to investigate the incidents in May 2017. A plan was made to return to the unit.
Dr Clamp told the inquiry: “The advantage of introducing regulation in any form for NHS managers would be the ability to prevent or reduce harm to patients.
He said: “Steps must be taken to enhance the professional development and accountability of NHS managers.
“We need to move forward now, 24 years on, because the Bristol Inquiry has shown us that much of what we have done still needs improvement.”
The NHS has recently produced a consultation document seeking views on the regulation of managers, including whether those who commit serious misconduct should be banned and whether there should be a professional register of managers, as well as Types of goods that should be regulated.
Letby, of Hereford, is serving 15 lifetime orders after pleading guilty at Manchester Crown Court to the murder of seven infants and the attempted murder of seven others between June 2015 and June 2016, along with two attempts on one of his victims. Is.
The findings of the Thirlwall inquiry are expected to be published in the autumn.
