Wes Streeting Cuts NHS HQ Staff Numbers In Half

Plans to cut personnel numbers in half at NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care were revealed yesterday amid drastic cost-cutting steps.

The ‘bonfire of bureaucrats’ is focused on getting rid of duplication across the organisations after their workforces swelled throughout the pandemic.

Health secretary Wes Streeting is also looking for to tighten his control over the NHS, provide much better worth for taxpayers and free-up money for the frontline.

Three more NHS England board members the other day revealed they will quit at the end of this month, following the current resignations of chief executive Amanda Pritchard and nationwide medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis.

The current leaders to sign up with the exodus are Julian Kelly, the primary monetary officer, Emily Lawson, the chief operating officer, and Steve Russell, the chief delivery officer and national director for vaccination and screening.

NHS England is the national quango tasked with supervising the everyday running of the health service and its long-term strategy.

It was established by the Tories in 2013 to offer it greater political self-reliance however Mr Streeting is keen to gain back tighter control from within his Department.

NHS England stated in a statement: ‘As part of the requirement to make finest possible use of taxpayers’ cash to support frontline services, the size of NHS England will be significantly reduced and might see the size of the centre reduction by around half.’

The much deeper staffing cuts follow a decrease of about 4,000 to 6,000 staff members at NHS England over the past two years and about 800 at the Department of Health and Social Care.

Health secretary Wes Streeting is likewise looking for to tighten his control over the NHS, amidst plans to cut personnel numbers in half at NHS England and the Department of Health

Former NHS England chief Amanda Pritchard will step down from her position at the end of this month

NHS England chief delivery officer Steve Russell (left) and chief operating officer Emily Lawson (right) are among the current employers to join the exodus

Sir Jim Mackey, who will end up being interim president at the start of April, will establish a transition group within NHS England to ‘lead the extreme reduction and reshaping of the centre with the Department of Health and Social Care’.

He stated: ‘We understand that today’s news is upsetting for our personnel, and we have substantial obstacles and changes ahead.’We intend to have a shift team in location to begin on the first April 2025 to assist lead us through this duration.’

Ms Pritchard stated in a note to staff, seen by the Health Service Journal: ‘In the last couple of weeks, I have actually said I think the time is ideal for radical reform of the size and functions of the centre to best support local NHS systems and providers to deliver for patients and drive the federal government’s reform top priorities.’

She said Mr Streeting had actually asked Sir Jim and Penny Dash, the inbound NHS England chair, to ‘lead this work, delivering substantial modifications in our relationship with DHSC to get rid of duplication’.

Mr Streeting stated: ‘I ‘d like to put on record my thanks to Julian, Emily and Steve for their commitment as public servants, and their operate in particular assisting steer the NHS through the pandemic.

‘I have actually delighted in working with each of them over the last 8 months and I have actually been impressed by their ability and concentrate on delivering improvement for clients and staff.

‘We are entering a duration of crucial improvement for our NHS. ‘With a more powerful relationship in between the Department for Health and Social Care and NHS England, we will work together with the speed and seriousness required to fulfill the scale of the challenge.’

As of June last year, NHS England employed simply under 15,000 full-time equivalent personnel, including irreversible, short-lived and consultancy. The Department of Health and Social Care had around 9,000, including the UK Health Security Agency. These are both around 30 per cent more than in January 2020.

NHS England primary financial officer Julian Kelly has likewise included his name to leaders resigning from their positions

Professor Stephen Powis, the NHS nationwide medical director, announced last week he would step down this summer season

UNISON head of health Helga Pile said: ‘Staff will be understandably worried about this unexpected modification of direction.

‘The number of redundancies being looked for at NHS England has actually trebled in simply a matter of weeks.

‘Em ployees there have actually already been through the mill with endless rounds of reorganisation. What was already a has now ended up being more like a headache.

‘Fixing a damaged NHS needs a correct strategy, with main bodies resourced and managed successfully so regional services are supported.

‘Rushing through cuts brings a threat of creating an even more, more complicated mess and could eventually hold the NHS back. That would let down the very individuals who require it most, the patients.’

Matthew Taylor, president of the NHS Confederation, said: ‘These changes are happening at a scale and rate not anticipated to begin with, but given the big savings that the NHS requires to make this year it makes sense to decrease locations of duplication at a national level and for the NHS to be led by a leaner centre.

‘NHS England has already delivered considerable cost savings and assisted to deliver enhancements in efficiency, however national bodies and local NHS leaders understand that more is needed this year.

‘These modifications represent the greatest improving of the NHS’s national architecture in more than a decade. It is essential that regional NHS organisations and other bodies are included in this improvement as the instant next steps end up being clearer, so that a maximum operating model can be produced.

‘This should be about doing things in a different way for the benefit of regional communities as both clients and taxpayers, in addition to for personnel ahead of yearly survey results on Thursday that are yet again expected to reveal the extreme obstacles they face.’

Wes Streeting