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 focused on getting rid of 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, provide better value for taxpayers and free-up money for the frontline.

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

The latest leaders to join the exodus are Julian Kelly, the chief monetary officer, Emily Lawson, the chief operating officer, and Steve Russell, the chief delivery officer and national director for vaccination and screening.

NHS England is the national quango charged with managing the everyday running of the health service and its long-term method.

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

NHS England stated in a statement: ‘As part of the requirement to make best possible use of taxpayers’ money to support frontline services, the size of NHS England will be radically minimized and might see the size of the centre decrease by around half.’

The much 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 seeking 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 (ideal) are amongst the latest bosses to sign up with the exodus

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

He stated: ‘We understand that today’s news is disturbing for our staff, and we have substantial obstacles and changes ahead.’We aim to have a transition team in place to begin on the first 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 actually said I think the time is ideal for radical reform of the size and functions of the centre to finest support local NHS systems and service providers to deliver for clients and drive the federal government’s reform top priorities.’

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

Mr Streeting said: ‘I want to put on record my thanks to Julian, Emily and Steve for their dedication as public servants, and their work in particular helping guide the NHS through the pandemic.

‘I’ve delighted in working with each of them over the last 8 months and I’ve been impressed by their ability and focus on providing improvement for patients and staff.

‘We are entering a period of important transformation for our NHS. ‘With a stronger relationship in between the Department for Health and Social Care and NHS England, we will work together with the speed and seriousness needed to meet the scale of the difficulty.’

Since June in 2015, NHS England utilized just under 15,000 full-time comparable personnel, consisting of long-term, short-lived 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 chief monetary officer Julian Kelly has likewise included his name to leaders resigning from their positions

Professor Stephen Powis, the NHS nationwide medical director, announced recently he would step down this summer

UNISON head of health Helga Pile said: ‘Staff will be naturally worried 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 endless rounds of reorganisation. What was already a demanding possibility has actually now become more like a problem.

‘Fixing a damaged NHS requires a correct strategy, with main bodies resourced and handled effectively so regional services are supported.

‘Rushing through cuts brings a risk of developing a further, more complicated mess and might eventually hold the NHS back. That would pull down the very individuals who need it most, the patients.’

Matthew Taylor, president of the NHS Confederation, stated: ‘These modifications are occurring at a scale and rate not expected to start with, however provided the big savings that the NHS requires to make this year it makes good sense to decrease areas of duplication at a nationwide level and for the NHS to be led by a .

‘NHS England has currently provided considerable cost savings and assisted to deliver improvements in performance, but national bodies and regional NHS leaders understand that more is required this year.

‘These changes represent the most significant improving of the NHS’s national architecture in more than a years. It is essential that regional NHS organisations and other bodies are involved in this change as the immediate next actions become clearer, so that a maximum operating model can be created.

‘This need to be about doing things in a different way for the benefit of local 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 reveal the severe obstacles they deal with.’

Wes Streeting