The report by Conservative peer Stuart Rose was submitted to the Government in December and was due to be made public before the general election in May. However, the Department of Health said publication has been delayed because the Rose review’s remit had been expanded and “further work is required”. The findings of another NHS report also needed to be taken into account, it added.
In a letter to Mr Hunt that has been seen by The Independent, Labour’s shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham said this reason was not credible and noted that the chair of the Health Select Committee, Conservative MP Sarah Wollaston, was also concerned. Mr Burnham said the delay undermined Mr Hunt’s stated aim to “hard-wire transparency into the health and care system”, to prevent whistleblowers being victimised.