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 yesterday in the middle of extreme cost-cutting procedures.

The ‘bonfire of bureaucrats’ is focused on eliminating duplication throughout the organisations after their workforces swelled during the pandemic.

Health secretary Wes Streeting is also seeking to tighten his control over the NHS, provide better worth for taxpayers and free-up money 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 chief executive Amanda Pritchard and national medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis.

The latest leaders to join the exodus are Julian Kelly, the chief financial officer, Emily Lawson, the chief operating officer, and Steve Russell, the chief shipment officer and national director for vaccination and screening.

NHS England is the nationwide quango entrusted with supervising the daily running of the health service and its long-term technique.

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

NHS England said in a declaration: ‘As part of the need to make finest possible use of taxpayers’ money to support frontline services, the size of NHS England will be radically lowered and could see the size of the centre decrease by around half.’

The much 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 also looking for to tighten his control over the NHS, amid 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 delivery officer Steve Russell (left) and primary operating officer Emily Lawson (best) are among the most current bosses to sign up with the exodus

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

He stated: ‘We understand that today’s news is unsettling for our personnel, and we have significant challenges and changes ahead.’We intend to have a transition team 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 couple of weeks, I have stated I believe the time is best for extreme reform of the size and functions of the centre to finest support local NHS systems and providers to deliver for clients and drive the government’s reform priorities.’

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

Mr Streeting stated: ‘I ‘d like 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’ve taken pleasure in dealing with each of them over the last 8 months and I have actually been impressed by their skill and focus on providing improvement for clients and personnel.

‘We are going into a duration 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 seriousness required to fulfill the scale of the difficulty.’

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

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

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

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

‘The number 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 unlimited rounds of reorganisation. What was currently a demanding prospect has now become more like a headache.

‘Fixing a damaged NHS requires a correct plan, with central bodies resourced and handled successfully so regional services are supported.

‘Rushing through cuts brings a danger of creating a further, more complex mess and might eventually hold the NHS back. That would let down the very individuals who need it most, the patients.’

Matthew Taylor, president of the NHS Confederation, stated: ‘These modifications are happening at a scale and pace not anticipated to begin with, but provided the big cost savings that the NHS needs to make this year it makes sense to reduce areas of duplication at a national level and for the NHS to be led by a leaner centre.

‘NHS England has actually currently delivered substantial savings and helped to deliver improvements in efficiency, but nationwide bodies and local NHS leaders know that more is required this year.

‘These changes represent the greatest reshaping of the NHS’s nationwide architecture in more than a years. It is very important that local NHS organisations and other bodies are associated with this change as the instant next steps become clearer, so that an optimal operating design can be produced.

‘This must be about doing things differently for the advantage of local communities as both clients and taxpayers, as well as for personnel ahead of annual study results on Thursday that are yet once again expected to reveal the severe difficulties they deal with.’

Wes Streeting