Health Foundation's response to Jeremy Hunt's speech on the creation of NHS Improvement

The Secretary of State for Health has announced today that the new body formed by Monitor and the Trust Development Authority will be called NHS Improvement and hold a new safety function, including a Patient Safety Investigation Service.

Will Warburton, Director of Improvement at the Health Foundation, said: '"Improvement" needs a strong voice in the system and the new body, NHS Improvement, will be well-positioned to influence nationally, helping providers address the challenges they are facing.

'However, inserting improvement into an organisation with a regulatory culture and function could be risky. Those leading in the front line are often too burdened by ever-increasing demands to have time to think about improving services as they go along. The balancing act will be to guard against the temptation, as finances tighten, to resort to command and control approaches and unrealistic demands for short-term transformation.

'Our experience of supporting improvement in the NHS over the past 10 years has shown that it needs local ownership, takes time, and works best when it taps into the creativity, discipline and professional motivation of doctors, nurses and other health care professionals. Positively engaging them will be crucial for success.

'The government will also have to ensure that the new Patient Safety Investigation Service has sufficient clout to influence all system players to act in a way that supports a strong safety culture. The new service must provide a truly independent investigation function to improve learning from failure, as well as encourage greater public engagement with safety and understanding of risk and harm.'

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Notes to editors

Read the blog by Dr Jennifer Dixon, Chief Executive of the Health Foundation on this issue.