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 drastic cost-cutting procedures.

The ‘bonfire of bureaucrats’ is aimed at removing 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, deliver better value for taxpayers and free-up money 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 latest leaders to join the exodus are Julian Kelly, the chief 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 national quango charged with managing the daily running of the health service and its long-term method.

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

NHS England stated in a declaration: ‘As part of the need to make finest possible usage of taxpayers’ cash to support frontline services, the size of NHS England will be radically decreased and could 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, amidst 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 (best) are among the most recent managers to join the exodus

Sir Jim Mackey, who will end up being interim chief executive at the start of April, will establish a transition 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 substantial obstacles and modifications ahead.’We aim to have a shift team in place to begin on the first April 2025 to help lead us through this duration.’

Ms Pritchard stated in a note to personnel, seen by the Health Service Journal: ‘In the last number of weeks, I have actually stated I think the time is best for radical reform of the size and functions of the centre to finest assistance local NHS systems and suppliers to deliver for clients and drive the federal government’s reform concerns.’

She stated Mr Streeting had actually asked Sir Jim and Penny Dash, the incoming NHS England chair, to ‘lead this work, delivering considerable modifications in our relationship with DHSC to get rid of 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 work in specific helping guide the NHS through the pandemic.

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

‘We are going into a duration of crucial improvement for our NHS. ‘With a more powerful relationship in between the Department for Health and Social Care and NHS England, we will work together with the speed and urgency needed to meet the scale of the challenge.’

Since June last year, NHS England employed simply under 15,000 full-time comparable staff, consisting of long-term, temporary 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 chief financial 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 summertime

UNISON head of health Helga Pile stated: ‘Staff will be understandably worried about this unexpected modification of instructions.

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

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

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

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

Matthew Taylor, president of the NHS Confederation, stated: ‘These changes are happening at a scale and pace not expected to begin with, but provided the huge cost savings that the NHS requires to make this year it makes good 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 already delivered substantial cost savings and assisted to deliver improvements in efficiency, however nationwide bodies and local NHS leaders understand that more is required this year.

‘These modifications represent the most significant reshaping of the NHS’s nationwide architecture in more than a decade. It is necessary that regional NHS organisations and other bodies are associated with this improvement as the instant next steps become clearer, so that an optimum operating design can be developed.

‘This should be about doing things in a different way for the benefit of regional communities as both clients and taxpayers, along with for staff ahead of annual survey results on Thursday that are yet once again expected to reveal the extreme challenges they deal with.’

Wes Streeting