Peter Wyman, the new Care Quality Commission (CQC) chair, will be focused on improving staff morale inside the CQC, a recent report revealed.
The Health Select Committee revealed Wyman’s goal in a report stating their overall approval for his appointment.
It read: “Mr Wyman highlighted his intention to improve staff morale within the CQC. We recommend that he use the opportunity of these visits to understand staff morale in clinical settings as well.”
This year’s CQC staff survey revealed that only 33% of staff believe morale is good in the organisation, a 6% increase since the 2014 survey. Moreover 31% of CQC staff felt that changes are effectively implemented, and 31% of staff felt communications across the Commission are effective.
Jeremy Hunt, secretary of state for health, recommended Wyman as his “preferred candidate” to become the next chair following an open recruitment campaign.
However, the Health Select Committee admitted doubting whether he should be appointed, due to a lack of clinical experience.
The Committee stated in the report that: “Our only reservation was his lack of experience in clinical settings.”
In order to overcome this, Wyman should “be given the opportunity to spend time in a wide range of health and care settings to meet clinical staff, patients and carers” at the beginning of his tenure.
Wyman currently chairs Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, having previously been a senior partner in Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) and president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. He was at PwC for more than 40 years, and became responsible for PwC’s government relations, public policy and regulatory matters.
David Behan, chief executive of the CQC, welcomed Wyman and stated: “I am sure that Peter’s long and successful career at PwC will add value as we seek to become a more efficient and effective organisation over the next few years.
“I have found Peter to be very thoughtful, intelligent and warm in the way he relates to people. I very much look forward to working with him,” Behan said.
