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 amid extreme cost-cutting steps.

The ‘bonfire of bureaucrats’ is intended at getting rid of duplication throughout the organisations after their labor forces swelled during the .

Health secretary Wes Streeting is also seeking to tighten his control over the NHS, deliver better worth 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 current 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 primary financial 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 nationwide quango tasked with overseeing the everyday running of the health service and its long-term technique.

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

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

The much deeper staffing cuts follow a decrease 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 also 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 (best) are amongst the most current managers 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 group within NHS England to ‘lead the extreme reduction 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 difficulties and modifications ahead.’We aim to have a shift group in place to begin on the 1st April 2025 to help lead us through this period.’

Ms Pritchard said in a note to personnel, seen by the Health Service Journal: ‘In the last couple of weeks, I have actually stated I think the time is best for radical reform of the size and functions of the centre to best assistance local NHS systems and suppliers to provide for patients and drive the federal 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, providing considerable modifications in our relationship with DHSC to remove duplication’.

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

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

‘We are entering a period of crucial transformation 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 meet the scale of the obstacle.’

As of June last year, NHS England utilized simply under 15,000 full-time equivalent staff, including long-term, 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 per cent 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, announced last week he would step down this summertime

UNISON head of health Helga Pile stated: ‘Staff will be not surprisingly concerned about this unexpected modification of instructions.

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

‘Em ployees there have actually already been through the mill with limitless rounds of reorganisation. What was currently a difficult possibility has now become more like a problem.

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

‘Rushing through cuts brings a risk of producing an even more, more complicated mess and could eventually hold the NHS back. That would let down the very individuals who require it most, the patients.’

Matthew Taylor, president of the NHS Confederation, said: ‘These changes are occurring at a scale and rate not expected to start with, but offered the big cost savings that the NHS needs to make this year it makes sense to reduce locations of duplication at a nationwide level and for the NHS to be led by a leaner centre.

‘NHS England has actually currently delivered significant savings and helped to provide enhancements in efficiency, but national bodies and local NHS leaders know that more is required this year.

‘These modifications represent the greatest improving of the NHS’s national architecture in more than a decade. It is very important that local NHS organisations and other bodies are included in this improvement as the instant next actions become clearer, so that an optimum operating model can be created.

‘This should be about doing things differently for the advantage of regional communities as both clients and taxpayers, as well as for personnel ahead of annual study results on Thursday that are yet again anticipated to show the severe difficulties they face.’

Wes Streeting