Sir David Nicholson to go: but will it change the culture at the top of the NHS?

Health Service Journal has a great scoop this afternoon that NHS boss Sir David Nicholson will retire in March 2014. The man who was in charge of the Mid-Staffordshire NHS Trust when the serious failings in care took place had long been considered a busted flush, but his departure seems to be set for a great deal later than those pushing for it had hoped.

I’ve spoken to Conservative MP Charlotte Leslie, who has long been after Nicholson’s scalp. She says:

‘I don’t think it’s soon enough and he should go immediately. If you want to oversee a massive culture change from the bullying and stifling of whistleblowers, then you start at the top. He seriously misled the Public Accounts Committee and the Health Select Committee.’

Leslie is also worried that Nicholson will leave his own legacy of colleagues he has appointed who want to continue his management style, and so there will be no culture change at the top of the organisation at all. Her Conservative colleague Steve Barclay echoes those concerns, saying:

‘That he hasn’t gone already is inconsistent with the culture of change in the NHS. I am also concerned about any attempts to line up Barbara Hakin as his successor as part of a long handover process. Barbara Hakin is the owner of the 111 launch, which has been a car crash.’

At least a departure date will be a relief for ministers, who were working out how on earth to get him to go quietly while also overseeing the implementation of the Health and Social Care Act. But the next big row will be over the size of Nicholson’s payoff.