Tories accused of hiding 'totally shocking' report into NHS management

A “totally shocking” report by one of the country’s most respected businessmen into how the NHS is being run must be published before the general election, MPs have said.

A withering assessment of NHS management, by the Conservative peer Lord Stuart Rose, who is credited with turning around the fortunes of Marks & Spencer, was submitted to the Department of Health in December but has still not been published by the government.

It is understood to paint a damaging picture of a culture in which mediocre managers can move around within the NHS without being held to account, while those who are successful go unrewarded.

Lord Rose was appointed to carry out the review in February last year by Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary. At the time, the government said it hoped he would be able to advise on how the NHS could “attract and retain the very best leaders to help transform the culture in under-performing hospitals”.

But one person who has seen the report told the Financial Times that Lord Rose, who is now chairman of online supermarket Ocado, had found the overall standard of much NHS management to be “totally shocking”.