Wes Streeting Cuts NHS HQ Staff Numbers In Half

Plans to cut staff numbers in half at NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care were unveiled the other day amid extreme cost-cutting measures.

The ‚bonfire of bureaucrats‘ is focused on eliminating duplication throughout the organisations after their labor forces swelled throughout the pandemic.

Health secretary Wes Streeting is also looking for to tighten his control over the NHS, deliver much better worth 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 primary executive Amanda Pritchard and national medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis.

The newest to sign up with the exodus are Julian Kelly, the chief monetary 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 tasked with overseeing the daily running of the health service and its long-term strategy.

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

NHS England said in a declaration: ‚As part of the requirement to make best possible use of taxpayers‘ cash 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 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, in the middle of plans 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 (ideal) are among the most recent managers to sign up with the exodus

Sir Jim Mackey, who will end up being interim president at the start of April, will set up a shift group 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 substantial challenges and modifications ahead.’We aim to have a shift group in location to start on the first April 2025 to help lead us through this period.‘

Ms Pritchard said in a note to staff, seen by the Health Service Journal: ‚In the last couple of weeks, I have stated I believe the time is right for extreme reform of the size and functions of the centre to finest assistance regional NHS systems and service providers to provide for patients and drive the government’s reform concerns.‘

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

Mr Streeting said: ‚I want to put on record my thanks to Julian, Emily and Steve for their dedication as public servants, and their operate in specific helping guide the NHS through the pandemic.

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

‚We are getting in a period of vital improvement for our NHS. ‚With a stronger relationship in between the Department for Health and Social Care and NHS England, we will work together with the speed and urgency needed to satisfy the scale of the obstacle.‘

Since June in 2015, NHS England utilized simply under 15,000 full-time comparable staff, including permanent, 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 percent 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

UNISON head of health Helga Pile said: ‚Staff will be understandably concerned about this unexpected change of instructions.

‚The number of redundancies being sought at NHS England has trebled in just a matter of weeks.

‚Em ployees there have currently been through the mill with limitless rounds of reorganisation. What was currently a stressful prospect has now become more like a nightmare.

‚Fixing a damaged NHS requires an appropriate plan, with main bodies resourced and managed efficiently so local services are supported.

‚Rushing through cuts brings a risk of developing an even more, more complicated mess and might eventually hold the NHS back. That would let down the very people who need it most, the clients.‘

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, stated: ‚These modifications are taking place at a scale and speed not prepared for to begin with, however given the substantial savings that the NHS needs to make this year it makes sense to decrease locations of duplication at a national level and for the NHS to be led by a leaner centre.

‚NHS England has actually currently provided considerable cost savings and assisted to deliver enhancements in performance, but national bodies and local NHS leaders know that more is needed this year.

‚These changes represent the biggest improving of the NHS’s nationwide architecture in more than a decade. It is necessary that local NHS organisations and other bodies are associated with this improvement as the immediate next steps end up being clearer, so that an optimal operating model can be produced.

‚This need to be about doing things in a different way for the benefit of regional communities as both clients and taxpayers, as well as for staff ahead of annual study results on Thursday that are yet once again expected to show the extreme obstacles they face.‘

Wes Streeting