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 the other day in the middle of drastic cost-cutting steps.

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

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

Three more NHS England board members yesterday announced they will give up at the end of this month, following the current resignations of president Amanda Pritchard and nationwide medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis.

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

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

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

NHS England stated in a statement: ‘As part of the need to make finest possible usage of taxpayers’ money to support frontline services, the size of NHS England will be radically lowered and might 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 looking for 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 primary operating officer Emily Lawson (right) are among the most current managers to join the exodus

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

He said: ‘We understand that today’s news is unsettling for our staff, and we have substantial challenges and changes ahead.’We intend to have a transition group in location to begin on the first April 2025 to assist 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 said I believe the time is ideal for radical reform of the size and functions of the centre to finest support regional NHS systems and providers to deliver for clients and drive the federal government’s reform top priorities.’

She said 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 remove duplication’.

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

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

‘We are going into a period of vital 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 challenge.’

As of June in 2015, NHS England used simply under 15,000 full-time equivalent staff, including permanent, 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 percent more than in January 2020.

NHS England chief financial officer Julian Kelly has also added his name to leaders resigning from their positions

Professor Stephen Powis, the NHS nationwide medical director, revealed recently he would step down this summertime

UNISON head of health Helga Pile said: ‘Staff will be naturally worried about this abrupt modification of direction.

‘The variety 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 endless rounds of reorganisation. What was currently a stressful prospect has actually now become more like a problem.

‘Fixing a damaged NHS needs a proper plan, with central bodies resourced and managed successfully so regional services are supported.

‘Rushing through cuts brings a danger of creating an even more, more complex mess and could ultimately hold the NHS back. That would pull down the very people who need it most, the patients.’

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, stated: ‘These modifications are taking place at a scale and rate not expected to begin with, but offered the substantial savings that the NHS needs to make this year it makes good sense to reduce areas of duplication at a nationwide level and for the NHS to be led by a leaner centre.

‘NHS England has actually currently provided considerable savings and helped to deliver enhancements in performance, but nationwide bodies and local NHS leaders understand that more is required this year.

‘These changes represent the most significant reshaping of the NHS’s nationwide architecture in more than a years. It is essential that local NHS organisations and other bodies are associated with this transformation as the immediate next end up being clearer, so that an optimal operating design can be developed.

‘This should be about doing things differently for the benefit of regional communities as both clients and taxpayers, in addition to for staff ahead of yearly study results on Thursday that are yet once again anticipated to show the severe obstacles they deal with.’

Wes Streeting