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 amidst extreme cost-cutting measures.

The ‘bonfire of bureaucrats’ is targeted at removing duplication across the organisations after their labor forces swelled throughout the pandemic.

Health secretary Wes Streeting is likewise seeking to tighten his control over the NHS, provide much better value for taxpayers and free-up cash for the frontline.

Three more NHS England board members yesterday announced they will quit at the end of this month, following the recent resignations of president Amanda Pritchard and national medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis.

The most recent leaders to join the exodus are Julian Kelly, the primary financial officer, Emily Lawson, the chief operating officer, and Steve Russell, the chief shipment officer and national director for vaccination and screening.

NHS England is the quango tasked with supervising the day to day running of the health service and its long-lasting method.

It was developed by the Tories in 2013 to give it higher political independence however Mr Streeting is keen to gain back tighter control from within his Department.

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

The deeper staffing cuts follow a reduction of about 4,000 to 6,000 staff members at NHS England over the previous 2 years and about 800 at the Department of Health and Social Care.

Health secretary Wes Streeting is likewise seeking to tighten his control over the NHS, amid strategies 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 (ideal) are amongst the current managers to join the exodus

Sir Jim Mackey, who will become interim primary executive at the start of April, will establish a transition team within NHS England to ‘lead the extreme decrease and improving of the centre with the Department of Health and Social Care’.

He said: ‘We understand that today’s news is disturbing for our staff, and we have significant difficulties and modifications ahead.’We intend to have a transition group in location to begin on the 1st April 2025 to assist lead us through this period.’

Ms Pritchard said in a note to personnel, seen by the Health Service Journal: ‘In the last number of weeks, I have stated I believe the time is right for radical reform of the size and functions of the centre to best support regional NHS systems and companies to provide for patients and drive the federal government’s reform concerns.’

She said Mr Streeting had actually asked Sir Jim and Penny Dash, the incoming NHS England chair, to ‘lead this work, providing significant modifications in our relationship with DHSC to remove duplication’.

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

‘I’ve enjoyed working with each of them over the last 8 months and I’ve been impressed by their skill and focus on providing enhancement for patients and personnel.

‘We are going into a period of crucial change for our NHS. ‘With a more powerful relationship between the Department for Health and Social Care and NHS England, we will collaborate with the speed and urgency needed to meet the scale of the difficulty.’

Since June last year, NHS England utilized simply under 15,000 full-time comparable personnel, including permanent, 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 monetary officer Julian Kelly has actually likewise added his name to leaders resigning from their positions

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

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

‘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 currently a demanding possibility has actually now ended up being more like a nightmare.

‘Fixing a damaged NHS requires an appropriate strategy, with central bodies resourced and managed efficiently so local services are supported.

‘Rushing through cuts brings a threat of developing an even more, more complex mess and might eventually hold the NHS back. That would pull down the very people who require it most, the clients.’

Matthew Taylor, president of the NHS Confederation, said: ‘These modifications are taking place at a scale and rate not prepared for to start with, but given the huge savings that the NHS requires to make this year it makes sense to lower areas of duplication at a nationwide level and for the NHS to be led by a leaner centre.

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

‘These modifications represent the greatest reshaping of the NHS’s national architecture in more than a decade. It is essential that regional NHS organisations and other bodies are involved in this transformation as the immediate next actions become clearer, so that an optimal operating design can be developed.

‘This need to be about doing things in a different way for the advantage of local communities as both clients and taxpayers, along with for staff ahead of yearly survey results on Thursday that are yet once again expected to reveal the severe obstacles they face.’

Wes Streeting