The NHS has recruited two captains of industry, a former director-general of the BBC, a vice-admiral and an author and psychologist in an effort to improve leadership in the health service, The Times has learnt.

Greg Dyke, who ran the BBC for four years, and Sir Stuart Hampson, the former chairman of John Lewis, are among a group of health service “outsiders” being brought in to give insights on raising standards in very large organisations. Lessons on discipline and motivation are likely to come from Vice-Admiral Sir Adrian Johns, a former Second Sea Lord and Commander-in-Chief of Naval Home Command, who commanded HMS Ocean in the Iraq war.

The move, which mirrors Gordon Brown’s attempt to create a government of all the talents, will also involve contributions from Daniel Goleman, author of the bestselling book Emotional Intelligence, and Gary Kaplan, a doctor and chief executive of a network of private clinics in the US.

The appointment of the five men as patrons of a new National Leadership Council will be announced this morning, with the council’s first meeting scheduled for next week. The patrons will receive set fees of £144.62 a meeting.

The council has been given the task of driving up standards in the NHS by showing what world-class leadership looks like and trying to develop such skills at every level.

It will also have 25 core members, all with longstanding NHS experience, who will focus on championing five key areas: clinical leadership, encouraging more doctors and nurses to take on executive roles, improving the standard of NHS trust boards, getting the highest quality applicants for all senior jobs, improving “inclusion” to ensure that leaders reflect the community they serve, and identifying the next generation of leaders. Each issue will have a lead member, who will be expected to provide two days a week and receive pro rata payment in line with their current NHS salaries.

A faculty of fellows is also being created to support the council, which will meet six times in its first year, with patrons attending when called upon.

The NHS, which employs 1.4 million people, has faced repeated criticism over the years for failing to make the most of its talent pool and resources. The latest warning came last month when the health regulator identified a failure of leadership at Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust as key to safety issues that may have contributed to more than 400 deaths at its hospitals.

David Nicholson, the NHS chief executive, who will be chairman of the new council, said that the overhaul was essential to ensuring that the highest standards were achieved.

“Leadership is the vital ingredient that can make all the difference to the quality of care that our patients experience,” he said. “Great leadership, which focuses on improving services for patients, will help transform the NHS.”

“We want to improve the overall quality of our leaders, equipping them with the skills to make our vision a reality.”

Mr Nicholson said that the council was being created as part of a commitment set out in the Government’s strategy for the future of the NHS, High Quality Care for All, and after extensive consultation with the NHS and leadership experts.

Mr Dyke said yesterday that his new appointment brought a range of challenges. “This is an exciting initiative at a critical moment. Leadership is at the heart of the NHS,” he said. “I look forward to making a contribution and ensuring that we deliver results that inspire confidence from all within and outside the NHS.”

Mr Goleman, an American psychologist and journalist, developed the argument that “non-cognitive skills” can matter as much as IQ for workplace success, which became the subject of an international bestselling book. Sir Adrian Johns, who trained as a helicopter pilot, served in the Royal Navy for more than 30 years. Dr Kaplan is chief executive of Virginia Mason Medical Centre, a private, not-for-profit organisation offering a network of primary and specialtyspecialist care clinics in the United States.

The NLC will work in partnership with the recently announced National Quality Board (NQB).

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