MP says NHS ‘shambles’ is fault of ‘utterly useless senior managers’

A Conservative MP has blamed “far too many overpaid and utterly useless senior managers” for what he described as the “shambles of the NHS.”

Philip Davies, MP for Shipley in Yorkshire, said in an email that the NHS is “appallingly run”, with many senior managers “who wouldn’t be able to get a similar job in the private sector.”

He claimed the NHS “shambles” “is not a problem created by the government,” as “the government’s job is to fund that NHS,” while running the services is done by NHS England and individual trusts.

However, recent analysis indicates that managers make up just 2 per cent of the NHS workforce, compared with 9.5 per cent of the UK workforce. NHS Confederation has said the NHS is “as a whole under, not over, managed,” despite “persistent and misleading media headlines.”

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Source: HSJ, 16 January 2023