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 unveiled yesterday amid extreme cost-cutting measures.

The ‘bonfire of bureaucrats’ is aimed at removing duplication across the organisations after their workforces swelled during the pandemic.

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

The current 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 national quango entrusted with managing the everyday running of the health service and its long-lasting method.

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

NHS England stated in a declaration: ‘As part of the requirement to make finest possible usage of taxpayers’ money to support frontline services, the size of NHS England will be radically 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 employees at NHS England over the previous 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, amidst 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 (best) are amongst the most recent bosses to join the exodus

Sir Jim Mackey, who will end up being interim chief executive at the start of April, will set up a transition team within NHS England to ‘lead the radical decrease and reshaping of the centre with the Department of Health and Social Care’.

He stated: ‘We understand that is upsetting for our personnel, and we have considerable challenges and modifications ahead.’We aim to have a shift group in place to begin on the first April 2025 to help lead us through this period.’

Ms Pritchard said 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 best assistance regional NHS systems and service providers to provide for patients and drive the government’s reform concerns.’

She stated Mr Streeting had actually asked Sir Jim and Penny Dash, the inbound NHS England chair, to ‘lead this work, delivering considerable 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 commitment as public servants, and their operate in specific helping guide the NHS through the pandemic.

‘I’ve taken pleasure in working with each of them over the last 8 months and I’ve been impressed by their skill and focus on delivering improvement for patients and staff.

‘We are going into a duration of crucial improvement 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.’

As of June in 2015, NHS England utilized simply under 15,000 full-time equivalent staff, including irreversible, momentary 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 also added his name to leaders resigning from their positions

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

UNISON head of health Helga Pile said: ‘Staff will be not surprisingly concerned about this sudden change of instructions.

‘The variety 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 unlimited rounds of reorganisation. What was already a difficult possibility has now become more like a nightmare.

‘Fixing a broken NHS requires a proper plan, with central bodies resourced and managed effectively so regional services are supported.

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

Matthew Taylor, president of the NHS Confederation, said: ‘These modifications are happening at a scale and rate not anticipated to begin with, however provided the substantial cost savings that the NHS requires to make this year it makes sense to minimize areas of duplication at a nationwide level and for the NHS to be led by a leaner centre.

‘NHS England has actually currently provided substantial cost savings and assisted to deliver enhancements in productivity, however national bodies and regional NHS leaders understand that more is needed this year.

‘These modifications represent the most significant improving of the NHS’s nationwide architecture in more than a decade. It is important that regional NHS organisations and other bodies are associated with this transformation as the instant next steps end up being clearer, so that an optimal operating model can be created.

‘This should have to do with doing things in a different way for the advantage of regional communities as both clients and taxpayers, in addition to for staff ahead of yearly survey results on Thursday that are yet once again expected to show the extreme difficulties they deal with.’

Wes Streeting