Senior NHS bosses should be regulated - Letby inquiry

Regulating senior hospital managers could improve patient safety, the 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 "enhance the accountability of NHS managers".

The PSA oversees the functions of the 10 regulators of people who work in health and social care such as doctors, nurses, pharmacists, dentists and social workers.

Dr Clamp's suggestion mirrored a recommendation that was made in the 2001 Bristol Royal Infirmary Inquiry report into failings in paediatric heart surgery in the 1980s and 1990s.

Letby, 35, was moved to clerical duties in July 2016 after consultant paediatricians on the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital had concerns she may be deliberately harming babies.

The Thirlwall Inquiry has heard that hospital bosses opted to commission a series of reviews into the increased mortality on the unit in 2015 and 2016, with plans to return Letby to the unit shortly before Cheshire Constabulary was asked in May 2017 to investigate the events.

Dr Clamp told the inquiry: "The advantage of introducing regulation in any form for NHS managers would be the potential to prevent or reduce harm to patients.

He added: "Steps should be taken to enhance the professional development and accountability of NHS managers.

"We need to move forward now after 24 years since the Bristol Inquiry has shown us that whatever we put in place still needs improvement."

The NHS recently produced a consultation document seeking views on the regulation of managers, including whether those who have conducted serious misconduct should be barred and whether there should be a professional register of managers, as well as the types of managers that should be regulated.

Letby, from Hereford, is serving 15 whole-life orders after she was convicted at Manchester Crown Court of murdering seven infants and attempting to murder seven others, with two attempts on one of her victims, between June 2015 and June 2016.

The findings of the Thirlwall Inquiry are expected to be published in the autumn.

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