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 measures.

The ‘bonfire of bureaucrats’ is focused on eliminating 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 the other day revealed they will stop at the end of this month, following the current resignations of president Amanda Pritchard and national medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis.

The most current leaders to join the exodus are Julian Kelly, the chief monetary 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 tasked with overseeing the everyday running of the health service and its long-term strategy.

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

NHS England stated 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 drastically lowered and could see the size of the centre reduction by around half.’

The deeper staffing cuts follow a decrease of about 4,000 to 6,000 staff members 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, in the middle of 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 running officer Emily Lawson (right) are amongst the newest bosses to sign up with 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 extreme reduction 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 staff, and we have substantial difficulties and modifications ahead.’We intend to have a shift group in place to start on the 1st 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 number of weeks, I have actually stated I think the time is best for extreme reform of the size and functions of the centre to finest assistance regional NHS systems and suppliers to deliver for clients and drive the government’s reform top priorities.’

She stated Mr Streeting had asked Sir Jim and Penny Dash, the inbound NHS England chair, to ‘lead this work, providing significant 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 devotion as public servants, and their operate in particular helping guide the NHS through the pandemic.

‘I’ve delighted in working with each of them over the last 8 months and I have actually been impressed by their skill and concentrate on delivering improvement for clients and personnel.

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

Since June last year, NHS England employed simply under 15,000 full-time equivalent staff, 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 per cent more than in January 2020.

NHS England primary financial officer Julian Kelly has likewise included his name to leaders resigning from their positions

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

UNISON head of health Helga Pile stated: ‘Staff will be understandably worried about this of direction.

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

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

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

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

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: ‘These modifications are happening at a scale and rate not anticipated to start with, however offered the substantial savings that the NHS needs to make this year it makes sense to lower areas of duplication at a nationwide level and for the NHS to be led by a leaner centre.

‘NHS England has actually already provided substantial cost savings and helped to provide enhancements in productivity, however national bodies and local NHS leaders understand that more is needed this year.

‘These changes represent the biggest reshaping of the NHS’s national architecture in more than a years. It is very important that local NHS organisations and other bodies are associated with this transformation as the immediate next actions end up being clearer, so that an optimum operating design can be developed.

‘This must have to do with doing things in a different way for the benefit of regional neighborhoods as both patients and taxpayers, in addition to for staff ahead of yearly survey results on Thursday that are yet again expected to show the severe challenges they deal with.’

Wes Streeting