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 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 looking for to tighten his control over the NHS, deliver better value for taxpayers and free-up cash for the frontline.

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

The most recent leaders to sign up with 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 day to day running of the health service and its long-lasting strategy.

It was developed by the Tories in 2013 to offer it higher political self-reliance however Mr Streeting is keen to restore tighter control from within his Department.

NHS England stated in a statement: ‘As part of the requirement to make finest possible usage of taxpayers’ cash to support frontline services, the size of NHS England will be radically lowered and could see the size of the centre reduction by around half.’

The much deeper staffing cuts follow a decrease of about 4,000 to 6,000 workers at NHS England over the previous two 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 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 (best) are amongst the current employers to sign up with the exodus

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

He stated: ‘We know that today’s news is upsetting for our personnel, and we have significant obstacles and modifications ahead.’We intend to have a transition group in place to begin on the first April 2025 to help lead us through this period.’

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

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

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

‘I have actually enjoyed working with each of them over the last 8 months and I’ve been impressed by their skill and concentrate on delivering enhancement for patients and staff.

‘We are going into a period of vital improvement for our NHS. ‘With a stronger relationship between the Department for Health and Social Care and NHS England, we will collaborate with the speed and seriousness needed to fulfill the scale of the challenge.’

As of June in 2015, NHS England utilized just under 15,000 full-time equivalent personnel, consisting of irreversible, momentary 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 monetary officer Julian Kelly has actually likewise included his name to leaders resigning from their positions

Professor Stephen Powis, the NHS national medical director, announced recently he would step down this summer season

UNISON head of health Helga Pile said: ‘Staff will be naturally concerned about this unexpected change of direction.

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

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

‘Fixing a damaged NHS requires a proper strategy, with main bodies resourced and managed efficiently so local services are supported.

‘Rushing through cuts brings a threat of creating a further, more complex mess and might ultimately hold the NHS back. That would pull down the very people who need it most, the clients.’

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: ‘These changes are taking place at a scale and pace not prepared for to start with, but offered the substantial cost savings that the NHS needs to make this year it makes sense to decrease areas of duplication at a national level and for the NHS to be led by a leaner centre.

‘NHS England has currently provided significant cost savings and helped to provide improvements in productivity, however nationwide bodies and local NHS leaders understand that more is required this year.

‘These modifications represent the most significant improving of the NHS’s national 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 actions end up being clearer, so that a maximum operating design can be developed.

‘This should have to do with doing things differently for the advantage of local communities as both clients and taxpayers, along with for of yearly survey results on Thursday that are yet once again anticipated to show the extreme difficulties they face.’

Wes Streeting