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 aimed at eliminating duplication across the organisations after their labor forces swelled during the pandemic.

Health secretary Wes Streeting is also seeking to tighten his control over the NHS, deliver much better worth for taxpayers and free-up cash for the frontline.

Three more NHS England board members the other day 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 sign up with the exodus are Julian Kelly, the primary financial officer, Emily Lawson, the chief running officer, and Steve Russell, the chief delivery officer and national director for vaccination and screening.

NHS England is the national quango tasked with managing the daily running of the health service and its long-lasting technique.

It was developed by the Tories in 2013 to offer it greater political self-reliance but Mr Streeting is eager to regain tighter control from within his Department.

NHS England said in a statement: ‘As part of the need to make best possible use of taxpayers’ cash to support frontline services, the size of NHS England will be significantly reduced and could see the size of the centre decline by around half.’

The deeper staffing cuts follow a reduction of about 4,000 to 6,000 workers at NHS England over the past two years and about 800 at the Department of Health and Social Care.

Health secretary Wes Streeting is likewise looking for 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 operating officer Emily Lawson (best) are among the current bosses to join the exodus

Sir Jim Mackey, who will become interim primary executive at the start of April, will establish a shift group within NHS England to ‘lead the radical reduction and improving of the centre with the Department of Health and Social Care’.

He said: ‘We understand that today’s news is disturbing for our staff, and we have substantial obstacles and modifications ahead.’We intend to have a shift group in location to start on the first 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 stated I believe the time is right for radical reform of the size and functions of the centre to best support regional NHS systems and providers to deliver for patients and drive the federal government’s reform concerns.’

She said Mr Streeting had actually asked Sir Jim and Penny Dash, the incoming NHS England chair, to ‘lead this work, delivering substantial modifications in our relationship with DHSC to get rid of duplication’.

Mr Streeting said: ‘I want to put on record my thanks to Julian, Emily and Steve for their devotion as public servants, and their work in specific assisting steer the NHS through the pandemic.

‘I have actually delighted in dealing with each of them over the last eight months and I’ve been impressed by their skill and focus on providing enhancement for clients and personnel.

‘We are getting in a period of critical transformation for our NHS. ‘With a more powerful relationship in between the Department for Health and Social Care and NHS England, we will collaborate with the speed and urgency required to meet the scale of the challenge.’

As of June last year, NHS England employed simply under 15,000 full-time comparable staff, consisting of permanent, momentary and consultancy. The Department of Health and Social Care had around 9,000, including the UK Health Security Agency. These are both around 30 per cent more than in January 2020.

NHS England chief monetary officer Julian Kelly has actually likewise included his name to leaders resigning from their positions

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

UNISON head of health Helga Pile said: ‘Staff will be not surprisingly worried about this abrupt change of direction.

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

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

‘Fixing a damaged NHS requires a correct strategy, with central bodies resourced and managed effectively so local services are supported.

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

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: ‘These changes are happening at a scale and pace not prepared for to begin with, however provided the big cost savings that the NHS requires to make this year it makes good sense to minimize areas of duplication at a national level and for the NHS to be led by a leaner centre.

‘NHS England has actually currently provided considerable savings and assisted to in productivity, but nationwide bodies and regional NHS leaders understand that more is required this year.

‘These changes represent the biggest reshaping of the NHS’s national architecture in more than a years. It is essential that regional NHS organisations and other bodies are associated with this change as the instant next steps end up being clearer, so that an optimal operating design can be produced.

‘This need to have to do with doing things in a different way for the advantage of local communities as both patients and taxpayers, in addition to for personnel ahead of annual study results on Thursday that are yet once again expected to reveal the extreme obstacles they face.’

Wes Streeting