Commenting on the announcement of a review of leadership in the health and care sector, the chief executive of NHS Providers, Chris Hopson, said:

"International evidence shows that the NHS is one of the most efficient health services in the world. And the last 18 months have shown how NHS frontline leaders, working with staff, can deliver truly world class care – developing new COVID-19 treatments, rolling out the COVID-19 vaccination campaign, creating 34,000 beds to treat COVID-19 patients at the drop of a hat and flexing critical care services overnight to deal with COVID-19 surges.

"Those leaders are also deeply committed to improving care, reducing variation and cutting waste – they know they need to think like a patient and act like a taxpayer. They will therefore want to work closely with this new review to identify ways to improve and deliver full value for the extra new taxpayer investment in the NHS."