Wes Streeting Cuts NHS HQ Staff Numbers In Half

Plans to cut staff numbers in half at NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care were revealed yesterday amidst drastic cost-cutting steps.

The ‘bonfire of bureaucrats’ is targeted at removing duplication across the organisations after their labor forces swelled throughout the pandemic.

Health secretary Wes Streeting is likewise 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 yesterday revealed they will give up at the end of this month, following the current resignations of president Amanda Pritchard and national medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis.

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

NHS England is the national quango entrusted with supervising the day to day running of the health service and its long-lasting strategy.

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

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

The deeper staffing cuts follow a decrease of about 4,000 to 6,000 staff members at NHS England over the previous two years and about 800 at the Department of Health and Social Care.

Health secretary Wes Streeting is likewise seeking to tighten his over the NHS, amid 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 delivery officer Steve Russell (left) and chief running officer Emily Lawson (right) are among the newest bosses to join the exodus

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

He stated: ‘We understand that today’s news is upsetting for our staff, and we have substantial obstacles and changes ahead.’We intend to have a shift group in place to start on the 1st April 2025 to assist lead us through this period.’

Ms Pritchard said in a note to staff, seen by the Health Service Journal: ‘In the last number of weeks, I have actually said I think the time is right for extreme reform of the size and functions of the centre to best support regional NHS systems and suppliers to provide for clients and drive the federal government’s reform top priorities.’

She stated Mr Streeting had asked Sir Jim and Penny Dash, the incoming 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 dedication as public servants, and their operate in particular assisting steer the NHS through the pandemic.

‘I have actually taken pleasure in dealing with each of them over the last eight months and I’ve been impressed by their skill and concentrate on providing improvement for patients and staff.

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

As of June last year, NHS England utilized just under 15,000 full-time equivalent personnel, including long-term, 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 percent more than in January 2020.

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

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

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

‘The variety of redundancies being sought at NHS England has trebled in just a matter of weeks.

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

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

‘Rushing through cuts brings a risk of creating a further, more complicated mess and could eventually hold the NHS back. That would pull down the very people who require it most, the clients.’

Matthew Taylor, primary executive of the NHS Confederation, stated: ‘These changes are happening at a scale and speed not anticipated to start with, however provided the substantial cost savings that the NHS requires to make this year it makes sense to lower areas of duplication at a national level and for the NHS to be led by a leaner centre.

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

‘These modifications represent the most significant improving of the NHS’s nationwide architecture in more than a decade. It is necessary that local NHS organisations and other bodies are associated with this improvement as the immediate next actions become clearer, so that an optimal operating model can be produced.

‘This must be about doing things in a different way for the advantage of local neighborhoods as both patients and taxpayers, in addition to for personnel ahead of yearly survey results on Thursday that are yet once again expected to show the extreme difficulties they deal with.’

Wes Streeting