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 the other day in the middle of extreme cost-cutting measures.

The ‘bonfire of bureaucrats’ is intended at eliminating duplication throughout the organisations after their workforces swelled throughout 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 announced they will stop at the end of this month, following the recent resignations of primary executive Amanda Pritchard and nationwide medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis.

The current leaders to join the exodus are Julian Kelly, the primary monetary 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 charged with managing the daily running of the health service and its long-lasting method.

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

NHS England said in a declaration: ‘As part of the need to make best possible use of taxpayers’ money to support frontline services, the size of NHS England will be radically minimized and could 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 previous 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, amid 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 delivery officer Steve Russell (left) and chief running officer Emily Lawson (right) are among the most current employers to sign up with 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 know that today’s news is unsettling for our personnel, and we have significant challenges and changes ahead.’We intend to have a shift group in place to begin on the 1st April 2025 to assist lead us through this duration.’

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

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

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

‘I’ve taken pleasure in dealing with each of them over the last eight months and I’ve been impressed by their ability and concentrate on providing enhancement for clients and personnel.

‘We are getting in a period of important change for our NHS. ‘With a stronger relationship in 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 challenge.’

As of June last year, NHS England utilized just 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 chief 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 naturally concerned about this abrupt modification of instructions.

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

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

‘Fixing a broken NHS needs a proper plan, with main bodies resourced and managed efficiently so local services are supported.

‘Rushing through cuts brings a danger of developing an even more, more complex mess and could ultimately hold the NHS back. That would pull down the very individuals who require it most, the patients.’

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: ‘These modifications are taking place at a scale and speed not for to begin with, however given the big cost savings that the NHS needs to make this year it makes sense to lower locations of duplication at a national level and for the NHS to be led by a leaner centre.

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

‘These changes represent the biggest reshaping of the NHS’s nationwide architecture in more than a decade. It is very important that local NHS organisations and other bodies are included in this transformation as the instant next steps become clearer, so that an optimum operating model can be created.

‘This need to have to do with doing things differently for the advantage of local communities as both clients and taxpayers, as well as for staff ahead of yearly study results on Thursday that are yet once again anticipated to show the extreme challenges they deal with.’

Wes Streeting