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 drastic cost-cutting measures.

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

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

Three more NHS England board members the other day announced 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 newest leaders to sign up with the exodus are Julian Kelly, the primary monetary officer, Emily Lawson, the chief running officer, and Steve Russell, the chief shipment officer and national director for vaccination and screening.

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

It was established by the Tories in 2013 to give it higher political independence but Mr Streeting is eager to regain tighter control from within his Department.

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

The much deeper staffing cuts follow a reduction of about 4,000 to 6,000 employees 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 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 primary running officer Emily Lawson (ideal) are amongst the latest bosses to join the exodus

Sir Jim Mackey, who will become interim primary executive at the start of April, will establish a shift team 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 disturbing for our staff, and we have substantial obstacles and changes ahead.’We intend to have a transition group in location to start on the first April 2025 to help lead us through this duration.’

Ms Pritchard stated in a note to personnel, seen by the Health Journal: ‘In the last number of weeks, I have said I think the time is ideal for extreme reform of the size and functions of the centre to finest assistance regional NHS systems and service providers to provide for patients and drive the 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, delivering substantial changes in our relationship with DHSC to eliminate duplication’.

Mr Streeting said: ‘I wish to put on record my thanks to Julian, Emily and Steve for their dedication as public servants, and their operate in specific helping steer the NHS through the pandemic.

‘I have actually delighted in working with each of them over the last 8 months and I’ve been impressed by their skill and concentrate on providing enhancement for patients and personnel.

‘We are getting in a period of important improvement 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 urgency needed to satisfy the scale of the obstacle.’

Since June in 2015, NHS England employed just under 15,000 full-time comparable personnel, including long-term, 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 monetary officer Julian Kelly has actually likewise included 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 not surprisingly concerned about this sudden modification of direction.

‘The number 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 limitless rounds of reorganisation. What was currently a difficult prospect has actually now ended up being more like a headache.

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

‘Rushing through cuts brings a risk of creating a further, more complicated mess and might eventually hold the NHS back. That would let down the very people who need it most, the clients.’

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: ‘These changes are taking place at a scale and rate not prepared for to start with, however offered the big cost savings that the NHS needs to make this year it makes good sense to minimize locations of duplication at a national level and for the NHS to be led by a leaner centre.

‘NHS England has already provided substantial savings and assisted to deliver enhancements in efficiency, but nationwide bodies and local NHS leaders know that more is required this year.

‘These changes represent the most significant improving of the NHS’s national architecture in more than a decade. It is essential that regional NHS organisations and other bodies are associated with this change as the immediate next actions end up being clearer, so that a maximum operating design can be created.

‘This need to be about doing things in a different way for the advantage of local neighborhoods as both patients and taxpayers, as well as for personnel ahead of annual survey results on Thursday that are yet again expected to reveal the severe difficulties they face.’

Wes Streeting