Speaking at the 2025 NHS Providers Annual Conference & Exhibition at Manchester Central this week, Wes Streeting MP emphasised that transparency, accountability and ‘earned’ autonomy are essential to improving quality across the NHS.
He said: “Good performance should be incentivised and rewarded. Poor performance should be held rigorously to account. And transparency and choice are essential, not nice to have. That’s what lay behind our decision to publish new NHS League tables.
“I know there was a concern when I announced them last year that this would be about naming and shaming and good, old-fashioned, manager bashing. I hope you can see now that this is actually about confronting the challenges we all face with grown-up honesty.”
The Secretary of State highlighted QEH’s response to being ranked at the bottom of the first National Oversight Framework league tables, published in September which ranked 134 Trusts on five key metrics, including access to services, finance and productivity performance in April-June 2025.
Mr Streeting told the conference: “I was delighted for example, with the way The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kings Lynn, a hospital which is literally being propped up on stilts, responded to being bottom of the table.
“Let me just share with you what the Executive Managing Director, Chris Bown said. He said, and I quote, the issues about our waiting times in our emergency department being too long, our waiting times for cancer care, and elective care being too long, and our financial situation, are not attributed directly to the state of the building. There are things we must do within this building to improve the experience of patients and staff.”
The Health Secretary went on to say: “Now, the reason I highlight that as an example is, he could easily have said it’s all because my hospital’s falling down.
“And I know he could have said that because I recall offering that defence myself on BBC local radio, in his part of the world earlier that day. And in contrast to what I said, what Chris did was offer the warts and all honesty that is the first step on the road to recovery, not making excuses and covering backsides, but actually taking responsibility and showing a determination to improve.
“Even when factors are stacked against you, that is how we turn the NHS around. But even as we let go of the top-down approach of the past, we’re not abandoning trusts to their fate. Those at the bottom of the tables will receive more support. At the other end, good performance will be incentivised and rewarded.
“This new culture of openness drives change and builds confidence that the NHS can learn and improve, which is crucial to restoring people’s faith in the NHS itself.”
The QEH Interim Executive Managing Director Chris Bown commented: “We appreciate the Secretary of State’s recognition of our response to the NOF league table results. At The QEH we are absolutely committed to facing our challenges head-on, with honesty and a determination to improve patient care.
“While our ageing building presents clear difficulties, many improvements lie within our gift. We are already driving forward changes that will make a real difference for our patients and staff. We welcome the additional support linked to the league tables and will continue to work openly and collaboratively to deliver the standards our community rightly expects.”
Ends. Notes to editors; For media enquiries only, please contact Communications Team, media.enquiries@qehkl.nhs.uk or 01553 613216. For all other enquiries, please contact QEH Switchboard on 01553 613613.
The full speech by the Secretary of State is available on the Gov.UK website: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/secretary-of-states-address-to-the-nhs-providers-conference
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