Ex-M&S boss who brought High Street chain ‘out of the doldrums’ is hired as NHS productivity czar to give ailing healthcare system an ‘M&S moment’

A former M&S boss has been hired as NHS productivity czar after pulling the High Street chain ‘out of the doldrums’.

Health Minister Victoria Atkins said the ‘tough guy’ has turned around his fortunes by “embracing modernity” and is demanding the health service does the same.

Her department has hired Steve Rowe to ensure that the NHS Productivity Plan, due later this year, ‘improves care across England’.

It comes after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced a £3.4 billion investment in NHS productivity during Wednesday’s Budget.

In a keynote speech at the think tank Nuffield Trust’s annual summit, Ms Atkins said the “huge amount of money” would be transformative.

It will be used to expand the use of AI, reduce paperwork for doctors and improve access for patients.

On a large project, AI will listen to doctor appointments so it can automatically generate patient notes.

Ms Atkins said it will reduce the time doctors spend on administration so they can see more patients.

She said at the summit: ‘We are on the cusp of a medical revolution, where technology, personalized therapies and better data can transform outcomes for a generation that is more health-conscious than anyone before them.

‘The NHS must seize this opportunity and look to the future, not limit ourselves to what has always been done. In fact, there needs to be – so to speak – an M&S moment.

‘This much-loved British brand – a mainstay on our high streets for decades – recognized the need for change and embraced modernity, focusing on the next generation looking to take over and secure its long-term future.

‘This is what the NHS needs to do to ensure it survives for the next 75 years.’

Health Minister Victoria Atkins said the ‘tough guy’ has turned around his fortunes by ’embracing modernity’ and demands the health service does the same

It comes after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced a £3.4 billion investment in NHS productivity during Wednesday’s budget. In a keynote speech at the think tank Nuffield Trust’s annual summit, Ms Atkins said the ‘huge amount of money’ would be transformative

Mrs Atkins continued: “I love M&S and am very pleased to welcome Steve Rowe to the department.

‘The reason we’re doing that is precisely because of the turnaround story that M&S ​​has had over the last five, six, seven years, where it’s fair to say they were in the doldrums and we were all concerned about the closure of stores.

‘Now I often have a conversation with colleagues who admire their beautiful new jacket and say: “Oh yes, it’s M&S”.

‘And it’s because they’ve listened to what their customers have said, but they’ve also recognized that they need to go further and I think bringing Steve into the department will help us with the productivity plan but also other forms of delivery , it will be a very important step forward.’

Mr Rowe was CEO of M&S from 2016 to 2022, when he retired after almost 40 years with the company. He had previously headed the food and clothing departments.

Much of the money will boost the NHS app so it becomes the ‘single front door’ through which patients can access NHS services and manage their care.

Patients can book and change appointments and undergo a digital health check, allowing doctors to identify people at high risk of disease and intervene early.

It is hoped the expansion will save staff time by reducing the number of missed appointments to 500,000 and keep the country healthier and working.

Just this week, the current boss of M&S said that doing business in Britain is ‘like running up an escalator with a backpack on your back’.

Dennis Reed, director of over-60s campaign group Silver Voices, raised concerns about the use of AI to record doctor appointments.

He said: ‘If patients are embarrassed about their medical problems, they may not be as forthcoming as they need to be during a consultation when being listened to by AI.

‘This can lead to them being misdiagnosed or treated and causing harm.’

Sam Smith, of privacy campaign group medConfidential, said: ‘Patients need to recognize this as the creepy overreach of technology that it appears to be.’

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: ‘Trust is the key issue when implementing new technologies that have a direct impact on patient data.

“Patient confidentiality will always be a top priority. Any suggestion that the implementation of new technologies will undermine this confidentiality is wrong and irresponsible.”