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 unveiled yesterday amid extreme cost-cutting procedures.

The ‘bonfire of bureaucrats’ is focused on eliminating duplication across the organisations after their labor forces swelled during the pandemic.

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

Three more NHS England board members yesterday revealed they will give up at the end of this month, following the recent resignations of primary executive Amanda Pritchard and national medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis.

The most current leaders to sign up with the exodus are Julian Kelly, the chief financial officer, Emily Lawson, the chief operating officer, and Steve Russell, the chief shipment officer and nationwide director for vaccination and screening.

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

It was developed by the Tories in 2013 to offer it greater political independence but Mr is eager to gain back tighter control from within his Department.

NHS England said in a declaration: ‘As part of the need to make finest 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 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 also seeking to tighten his control over the NHS, amid plans 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 (right) are amongst the most recent employers to sign up with the exodus

Sir Jim Mackey, who will become interim president at the start of April, will set up a shift 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 unsettling for our staff, and we have considerable obstacles and modifications ahead.’We aim to have a shift group in location to start on the first April 2025 to assist lead us through this period.’

Ms Pritchard stated in a note to personnel, seen by the Health Service Journal: ‘In the last couple of weeks, I have said I think the time is ideal for extreme reform of the size and functions of the centre to best assistance regional NHS systems and service providers to provide for clients and drive the federal government’s reform top priorities.’

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

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

‘I have actually taken pleasure in 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 staff.

‘We are entering a duration 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 meet the scale of the obstacle.’

Since June last year, NHS England utilized simply under 15,000 full-time comparable staff, including irreversible, short-term 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 actually also added his name to leaders resigning from their positions

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

UNISON head of health Helga Pile stated: ‘Staff will be understandably concerned about this abrupt change of instructions.

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

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

‘Fixing a broken NHS requires an appropriate strategy, with main bodies resourced and handled efficiently so regional services are supported.

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

Matthew Taylor, primary executive of the NHS Confederation, said: ‘These changes are occurring at a scale and rate not expected to begin with, however offered the huge cost 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 already delivered substantial savings and assisted to deliver enhancements in performance, however nationwide bodies and local NHS leaders know that more is required this year.

‘These changes represent the most significant reshaping of the NHS’s national architecture in more than a decade. It is crucial that regional NHS organisations and other bodies are associated with this transformation as the immediate next steps become clearer, so that a maximum operating model can be created.

‘This need to have to do with doing things in a different way for the advantage of regional communities as both patients and taxpayers, along with for personnel ahead of yearly survey results on Thursday that are yet once again expected to reveal the severe challenges they face.’

Wes Streeting