Failing hospitals will be named and shamed in league tables and NHS managers sacked if they fail to improve patient care and take control of finances, under government plans.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting tells leaders at NHS Providers’ Conference in Liverpool that ‘there will no longer be rewards for failure’ as he sets out package of measures aimed at combating poor performance.

NHS England will carry out a “no holds barred” review of the performance of the NHS across England, with the results made public in regularly updated league tables.

NHS trusts can expect to be ranked on a range of indicators such as finances, service delivery, patient access to care and leadership competence.

Health officials hit back at the move, saying it could demoralize staff, and accused ministers of “getting caught up in the seductive notion of a magic productivity tree that will make the NHS more efficient simply by shaking stronger the magic tree.”

Speaking on Wednesday, Mr Streeting told BBC Radio 4’s Today program that “where we have underperforming senior managers, I will make no apologies for managing those people, because people know – and that is the guilty secret of the NHS – that there are very senior staff who are paid on average, let’s not forget £145,000 a year, who are managed, paid in one trust and then reincarnated into another trust in the NHS”.

Under the Government’s plans, persistently failing managers will be replaced and turnaround teams sent to trusts which are running large financial deficits or providing a poor service to patients.

Meanwhile, top performers in the NHS will benefit from greater control over their spending to help them modernize their buildings, equipment and technology.

The Department of Health said there is currently little incentive for trusts to generate budget surpluses as NHS trusts are unable to benefit from them, but this will now change, with trusts more efficient companies receiving more of this money.

Mr Streeting said: “The Budget showed that this Government is putting the NHS first, providing the investment needed to rebuild the health service.

“Today we are announcing reforms to ensure every penny of additional investment is well spent and to reduce waiting times for patients.

“It will no longer be possible to turn a blind eye to failure. We will incentivize health services to improve, so that patients get more out of what taxpayers put in.

“Our health service needs to attract the best talent, be much more transparent to the public who pay for it and operate as efficiently as global companies.

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

NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard said: “While NHS leaders welcome accountability, it is essential that accountability is accompanied by the necessary support and development.

“The comprehensive package of reforms, developed in collaboration with the Government, will empower all leaders working in the NHS and give them the tools they need to provide the best possible services to our patients.”

Mr Streeting has already announced that failing NHS managers will be denied pay rises if they do not improve patient care or get their finances in order.

A new remuneration framework for top executives will be published before April next year, with financial rewards for those who perform well.

NHS Providers deputy chief executive Saffron Cordery said the scale of the challenge facing NHS leaders was “enormous” and they were “doing everything possible to increase productivity while implementing measures strict efficiency standards.

She added: “It is essential that we take decisive action to tackle the root causes of pressures on health services, including lack of resources for public health, prevention and social care, chronic shortages of workforce, financial deficits and historical underinvestment in the health sector. the bricks and mortar of the NHS that underpin many of the challenges we face today.

“It is essential to take steps to address these root causes before even putting on the table plans to introduce rankings and threats of ‘firing failing managers’.

“Leaders in the trust industry are highly accountable, held to rigorous standards and ready to meet the challenges ahead, as they always have been. Rankings carry a significant risk of unintended consequences.

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said “the prospect of more ‘rankings’ will worry health officials as these can suppress important underlying information.”

“NHS staff are doing their best for patients in very difficult circumstances and we don’t want them to feel like they are being named and shamed.

“Rankings by themselves do not lead to improvement. Trusts facing ongoing performance issues, some of which reflect contextual issues such as underlying population health and staff shortages, need to be identified and supported in order to recover.

Nuffield Trust chief executive Thea Stein said: “We know from the special measures for the quality regime that naming and shaming NHS trusts can make it more difficult to recruit staff, which does not help at all patient care.

“It’s not clear what the new rankings will measure – a table based on overall waiting times doesn’t do much if you need to know how effective heart surgery is…

“Ministers have long warned the NHS against naive belief in the magic tree of money.

“But they themselves risk falling for the seductive notion of a magic tree of productivity that would make the NHS more efficient simply by shaking the magic tree harder, rather than by changing the drivers of efficiency .

“This can only lead to the NHS being forced to ask for ‘more, more, more’, and patients will ultimately pay the price.” ​

Mr Streeting will also explain at Wednesday’s conference how NHS trusts could be banned from using agencies to fill staff shortages, such as healthcare assistants and cleaners, in a bid to reduce the 3 billion pounds spent per year on agency workers.

NHS staff who leave permanent employment could also be blocked from returning to the health service through costly agencies.

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