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 unveiled yesterday amid drastic cost-cutting steps.

The ‘bonfire of bureaucrats’ is targeted at removing duplication across the organisations after their workforces swelled during the pandemic.

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

Three more NHS England board members yesterday revealed they will stop 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 join the exodus are Julian Kelly, the chief financial officer, Emily Lawson, the chief running officer, and Steve Russell, the chief shipment officer and nationwide director for vaccination and screening.

NHS England is the nationwide quango tasked with managing the day to day running of the health service and its long-term technique.

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

NHS England stated in a statement: ‘As part of the need to make best possible usage of taxpayers’ money to support frontline services, the size of NHS England will be drastically decreased and might see the size of the centre reduction by around half.’

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

Health secretary Wes Streeting is also 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 primary running officer Emily Lawson (best) are among the most recent employers to join the exodus

Sir Jim Mackey, who will end up being interim president at the start of April, will establish a within NHS England to ‘lead the radical decrease 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 staff, and we have substantial difficulties and modifications ahead.’We intend to have a transition group in place to start on the 1st April 2025 to help lead us through this duration.’

Ms Pritchard said in a note to personnel, seen by the Health Service Journal: ‘In the last number of weeks, I have actually said I believe the time is ideal for radical reform of the size and functions of the centre to finest support local NHS systems and service providers to provide for clients and drive the federal government’s reform priorities.’

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

Mr Streeting said: ‘I ‘d like to put on record my thanks to Julian, Emily and Steve for their commitment as public servants, and their work in specific assisting guide the NHS through the pandemic.

‘I’ve delighted in dealing with each of them over the last 8 months and I have actually been impressed by their skill and focus on delivering improvement for patients and personnel.

‘We are entering a duration of important change for our NHS. ‘With a stronger relationship in between the Department for Health and Social Care and NHS England, we will collaborate with the speed and urgency required to fulfill the scale of the obstacle.’

As of June in 2015, NHS England used simply under 15,000 full-time comparable personnel, including long-term, temporary and consultancy. The Department of Health and Social Care had around 9,000, including the UK Health Security Agency. These are both around 30 percent more than in January 2020.

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

Professor Stephen Powis, the NHS national medical director, revealed last week he would step down this summer

UNISON head of health Helga Pile stated: ‘Staff will be naturally worried about this sudden modification of direction.

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

‘Em ployees there have already been through the mill with unlimited rounds of reorganisation. What was currently a difficult possibility has actually now ended up being more like a nightmare.

‘Fixing a damaged NHS needs an appropriate plan, with main bodies resourced and managed effectively so regional services are supported.

‘Rushing through cuts brings a danger of creating an even more, more complex mess and might eventually hold the NHS back. That would let down the very people who need it most, the patients.’

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: ‘These changes are occurring at a scale and pace not anticipated to start with, but offered the huge cost savings that the NHS requires to make this year it makes good sense to decrease locations of duplication at a national level and for the NHS to be led by a leaner centre.

‘NHS England has actually already provided substantial savings and assisted to provide enhancements in efficiency, however national bodies and local NHS leaders understand that more is required this year.

‘These changes represent the biggest improving of the NHS’s nationwide architecture in more than a decade. It is important that regional NHS organisations and other bodies are involved in this change as the instant next actions become clearer, so that an optimum operating design can be produced.

‘This should have to do with doing things in a different way for the benefit of regional neighborhoods as both patients and taxpayers, along with for staff ahead of annual survey results on Thursday that are yet once again anticipated to reveal the severe challenges they deal with.’

Wes Streeting