The King’s Fund has launched a commission to assess the leadership and management needs of the NHS.

The commission aims to evaluate evidence about the current state of leadership and management in the NHS, and outline the capabilities needed to meet future challenges.

King’s Fund chief executive Professor Chris Ham will chair the commission. Professor Ross Baker of the University of Toronto; Dame Jacqueline Docherty, chief executive of West Middlesex University Hospital Trust; Dr Peter Hockey, deputy medical director of NHS South Central and former Harkness Fellow; Lord Tugendhat, chair of Imperial College Healthcare Trust; and Professor Kieran Walshe of Manchester Business School have been named as members of the commission.

Professor Ham said: “The NHS spends over £105bn of public money each year and employs around one and a half million people. It needs strong and effective leaders, especially during a time of great change and as it faces the biggest financial challenge in its history.

“NHS managers have come in for a good deal of criticism recently. This commission will aim to move beyond the polarised and divisive rhetoric which sets up managers and clinicians in opposition to each other, to facilitate a debate about the leadership and management the NHS will need in future.”

The commission will report in spring 2011. The deadline for submitting evidence is 5 December.

See www.kingsfund.org.uk for more details.

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