Wes Streeting Cuts NHS HQ Staff Numbers In Half

Plans to cut staff numbers in half at NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care were revealed yesterday amidst extreme cost-cutting procedures.

The ’bonfire of bureaucrats’ is intended at getting rid of duplication across the organisations after their workforces swelled throughout the pandemic.

Health secretary Wes Streeting is likewise looking for to tighten his control over the NHS, deliver much 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 recent resignations of chief executive Amanda Pritchard and nationwide medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis.

The most recent leaders to join the exodus are Julian Kelly, the chief financial officer, Emily Lawson, the chief running officer, and Steve Russell, the chief delivery officer and nationwide director for vaccination and screening.

NHS England is the national quango entrusted with managing the everyday running of the health service and its long-lasting technique.

It was developed by the Tories in 2013 to offer it higher political self-reliance however Mr Streeting is eager to gain back 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 significantly minimized and might see the size of the centre decrease by around half.’

The much deeper staffing cuts follow a reduction of about 4,000 to 6,000 workers at NHS England over the past 2 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, in the middle of strategies to cut staff 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 shipment officer Steve Russell (left) and chief running officer Emily Lawson (best) are amongst the current bosses to sign up with the exodus

Sir Jim Mackey, who will become interim president at the start of April, will set up 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 said: ’We understand that today’s news is unsettling for our staff, and we have significant challenges and changes ahead.’We aim to have a transition group in location to begin on the 1st April 2025 to assist lead us through this period.’

Ms Pritchard stated in a note to staff, seen by the Health Service Journal: ’In the last couple of weeks, I have stated I believe the time is right for extreme reform of the size and functions of the centre to finest support regional NHS systems and providers to provide for clients and drive the government’s reform priorities.’

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

Mr Streeting said: ’I ’d like to put on record my thanks to Julian, Emily and Steve for their dedication as public servants, and their work in particular assisting steer the NHS through the pandemic.

’I’ve taken pleasure in working with each of them over the last 8 months and I have actually been impressed by their skill and focus on providing enhancement for clients and personnel.

’We are going into a period of important change for our NHS. ’With a more powerful relationship between the Department for Health and Social Care and NHS England, we will interact with the speed and seriousness required to satisfy the scale of the obstacle.’

Since June last year, NHS England used just under 15,000 full-time comparable staff, including permanent, temporary and consultancy. The Department of Health and Social Care had around 9,000, consisting of 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 nationwide medical director, revealed recently he would step down this summer

UNISON head of health Helga Pile said: ’Staff will be not surprisingly worried about this unexpected change of direction.

’The variety of redundancies being sought at NHS England has trebled in just a matter of weeks.

’Em ployees there have actually currently been through the mill with limitless rounds of reorganisation. What was already a difficult prospect has now become more like a nightmare.

’Fixing a broken NHS needs a proper plan, with resourced and handled effectively so local services are supported.

’Rushing through cuts brings a threat of creating a further, more complex mess and might ultimately hold the NHS back. That would pull down the very individuals who need it most, the clients.’

Matthew Taylor, president of the NHS Confederation, stated: ’These changes are taking place at a scale and pace not expected to begin with, however offered the huge savings that the NHS requires to make this year it makes sense to decrease areas of duplication at a national level and for the NHS to be led by a leaner centre.

’NHS England has actually currently provided considerable cost savings and helped to provide improvements in efficiency, but national bodies and regional NHS leaders know that more is needed this year.

’These modifications represent the biggest improving of the NHS’s nationwide architecture in more than a years. It is necessary that regional NHS organisations and other bodies are associated with this change as the instant next steps become clearer, so that an optimal operating design can be created.

’This should be about doing things in a different way for the advantage of regional neighborhoods as both patients and taxpayers, as well as for personnel ahead of yearly survey results on Thursday that are yet once again expected to show the extreme challenges they deal with.’

Wes Streeting