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 amidst drastic cost-cutting measures.

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

Health secretary Wes Streeting is likewise seeking to tighten his control over the NHS, deliver much better value for taxpayers and free-up money 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 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 national director for vaccination and screening.

NHS England is the national quango charged with overseeing the daily running of the health service and its long-term technique.

It was developed by the Tories in 2013 to provide it greater political independence but Mr Streeting is keen to regain 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 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 past 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, in the middle of strategies to cut personnel 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 operating officer Emily Lawson (ideal) are among the most current employers to join the exodus

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

He said: ‘We understand that news is disturbing for our staff, and we have substantial difficulties and changes ahead.’We aim to have a transition team in place to start 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 said I think the time is ideal for extreme reform of the size and functions of the centre to finest support regional NHS systems and service providers to provide for patients and drive the government’s reform priorities.’

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 remove duplication’.

Mr Streeting stated: ‘I wish to put on record my thanks to Julian, Emily and Steve for their commitment as public servants, and their work in specific assisting guide the NHS through the pandemic.

‘I have actually enjoyed 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 going into a period of critical transformation 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 seriousness required to fulfill the scale of the obstacle.’

Since June last year, NHS England utilized just under 15,000 full-time comparable personnel, including long-term, short-term 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 primary financial officer Julian Kelly has 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 stated: ‘Staff will be naturally worried about this abrupt modification of direction.

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

‘Em ployees there have currently been through the mill with unlimited rounds of reorganisation. What was currently a difficult prospect has actually now become more like a problem.

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

‘Rushing through cuts brings a risk of creating 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 clients.’

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

‘NHS England has already provided considerable cost savings and helped to deliver improvements in efficiency, but national bodies and regional 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 decade. It is necessary that regional NHS organisations and other bodies are associated with this transformation as the immediate next steps become clearer, so that a maximum operating model can be produced.

‘This need to have to do with doing things in a different way for the advantage of regional communities as both patients and taxpayers, along with for staff ahead of annual study results on Thursday that are yet again expected to show the severe difficulties they face.’

Wes Streeting