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 revealed yesterday amid drastic cost-cutting steps.

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

Health secretary Wes Streeting is also looking for to tighten his control over the NHS, deliver better value for taxpayers and free-up money for the frontline.

Three more NHS England board members the other day announced they will quit at the end of this month, following the recent resignations of president Amanda Pritchard and national medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis.

The most current leaders to sign up with the exodus are Julian Kelly, the primary financial 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 entrusted with managing the day to day running of the health service and its long-lasting strategy.

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

NHS England stated in a statement: ‘As part of the need to make best possible use of taxpayers’ cash to support frontline services, the size of NHS England will be significantly minimized and could see the size of the centre reduction by around half.’

The deeper staffing cuts follow a reduction of about 4,000 to 6,000 employees at NHS England over the past 2 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, 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 running officer Emily Lawson (right) are among the current bosses to join the exodus

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

He said: ‘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 team in location to start on the 1st April 2025 to assist lead us through this period.’

Ms Pritchard said in a note to personnel, seen by the Health Service Journal: ‘In the last couple of weeks, I have said I think the time is ideal for radical reform of the size and functions of the centre to finest support regional NHS systems and companies to provide for clients and drive the federal government’s reform priorities.’

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

Mr Streeting stated: ‘I want 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 .

‘I have actually delighted in dealing with each of them over the last eight months and I have actually been impressed by their ability and focus on delivering enhancement for clients and staff.

‘We are going into a period of important improvement for our NHS. ‘With a stronger relationship between the Department for Health and Social Care and NHS England, we will interact with the speed and urgency required to meet the scale of the challenge.’

Since June in 2015, NHS England utilized just under 15,000 full-time equivalent personnel, consisting of permanent, short-term 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 financial officer Julian Kelly has also included his name to leaders resigning from their positions

Professor Stephen Powis, the NHS national medical director, revealed last week he would step down this summer season

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

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

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

‘Fixing a broken NHS needs a correct strategy, with central bodies resourced and handled efficiently so local services are supported.

‘Rushing through cuts brings a threat of developing an even more, more complex mess and could 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, stated: ‘These modifications are happening at a scale and speed not prepared for to start with, but given the substantial savings that the NHS requires to make this year it makes good sense to decrease areas of duplication at a nationwide level and for the NHS to be led by a leaner centre.

‘NHS England has actually currently provided substantial savings and helped to deliver improvements in productivity, however national bodies and local NHS leaders know that more is needed this year.

‘These changes represent the most significant reshaping of the NHS’s national architecture in more than a years. It is essential that regional NHS organisations and other bodies are associated with this improvement as the instant next actions end up being clearer, so that a maximum operating model can be created.

‘This must have to do with doing things in a different way for the advantage of local neighborhoods as both clients and taxpayers, along with for staff ahead of annual study results on Thursday that are yet again expected to reveal the severe difficulties they deal with.’

Wes Streeting