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 drastic cost-cutting procedures.

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 seeking 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 revealed they will quit at the end of this month, following the recent resignations of chief executive Amanda Pritchard and national medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis.

The most recent leaders to sign up with the exodus are Julian Kelly, the primary financial officer, Emily Lawson, the chief running officer, and Steve Russell, the chief shipment officer and nationwide director for vaccination and screening.

NHS England is the national quango tasked with supervising the everyday running of the health service and its long-lasting technique.

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

NHS England said in a statement: ‘As part of the requirement to make best possible use of taxpayers’ cash to support frontline services, the size of NHS England will be significantly lowered and might see the size of the centre decline by around half.’

The deeper staffing cuts follow a reduction 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 seeking 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 shipment officer Steve Russell (left) and chief operating officer Emily Lawson (ideal) are among the most recent bosses to sign up with the exodus

Sir Jim Mackey, who will become interim primary executive at the start of April, will establish a transition group within NHS England to ‘lead the extreme reduction and improving of the centre with the Department of Health and Social Care’.

He said: ‘We know that today’s news is unsettling for our staff, and we have significant obstacles and changes ahead.’We aim to have a shift group in location to begin on the 1st 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 assistance local NHS systems and service providers to provide for patients and drive the federal government’s reform priorities.’

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

Mr Streeting stated: ‘I want to put on record my thanks to Julian, Emily and Steve for their dedication as public servants, and their work in particular assisting steer the NHS through the .

‘I’ve delighted in working with each of them over the last eight months and I have actually been impressed by their ability and concentrate on providing enhancement for clients and staff.

‘We are getting in a duration of critical improvement 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 seriousness required to fulfill the scale of the challenge.’

Since June in 2015, NHS England employed simply under 15,000 full-time equivalent staff, including 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 primary monetary officer Julian Kelly has likewise added 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 said: ‘Staff will be understandably concerned about this sudden modification of direction.

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

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

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

‘Rushing through cuts brings a risk of creating an even more, more complicated mess and could ultimately hold the NHS back. That would let down the very people who require it most, the clients.’

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: ‘These changes are happening at a scale and pace not anticipated to begin with, but offered the substantial cost 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 delivered considerable savings and helped to deliver improvements in efficiency, but national bodies and local NHS leaders know that more is needed this year.

‘These changes represent the most significant 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 end up being clearer, so that an optimal operating design can be produced.

‘This need to have to do with doing things differently for the advantage of regional communities as both clients and taxpayers, along with for staff ahead of yearly study results on Thursday that are yet once again expected to show the extreme difficulties they face.’

Wes Streeting