Top managers steer clear of NHS

10 May 07
The recent furore over health service deficits and 'poor management' has left NHS organisations struggling to fill their top jobs, the NHS Confederation has warned.

11 May 2007

The recent furore over health service deficits and 'poor management' has left NHS organisations struggling to fill their top jobs, the NHS Confederation has warned.

Nigel Edwards, policy director at the confederation, said: 'NHS organisations are finding it difficult to recruit people to the top jobs because of the pressure and exposed position people find themselves in.

'As the fourth largest organisation in the world, employing 1.3 million staff… you would expect high-quality management to be valued. Yet NHS managers are often derided and criticised by the media and politicians. It is important that managers are supported in what is a very complex and challenging role – not necessarily condemned and criticised because they are the easy target.'

Edwards was speaking as the confederation launched its counter-attack with the report, Management in the NHS: the facts, which claims that rather than the NHS being awash with managers, their numbers have actually dropped by 6.5% since 2005.

According to its study, managers today account for 2.7% of the NHS workforce – or 36,751 – compared with nurses, who make up over a quarter (398,335), and doctors who make up around 10% (125,612). This means there is approximately one manager for every ten nurses and five beds.

The confederation refutes the claim that there are 'more managers than beds', saying: 'The figures used to support this inaccurate claim actually include essential non-clinical staff like porters, cleaners and receptionists.'

It adds that the percentage of managers is much smaller in the NHS than in the UK workforce as a whole (15%).

PFmay2007

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