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 in the middle of drastic cost-cutting steps.

The ‘bonfire of bureaucrats’ is intended at getting rid of duplication throughout the organisations after their workforces swelled throughout the pandemic.

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

Three more NHS England board members yesterday revealed they will give up at the end of this month, following the recent resignations of president 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 national director for vaccination and screening.

NHS England is the nationwide quango entrusted with managing the everyday running of the health service and its long-lasting strategy.

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

NHS England stated in a declaration: ‘As part of the need to make finest possible usage of taxpayers’ money to support frontline services, the size of NHS England will be significantly reduced 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 previous 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, amidst 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 chief operating officer Emily Lawson (right) are among the current bosses to join the exodus

Sir Jim Mackey, who will end up being interim president at the start of April, will establish a shift group within NHS England to ‘lead the extreme 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 staff, and we have considerable difficulties and changes intend to have a transition team in place to begin on the first April 2025 to assist lead us through this period.’

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

She stated Mr Streeting had asked Sir Jim and Penny Dash, the incoming NHS England chair, to ‘lead this work, providing considerable modifications in our relationship with DHSC to remove duplication’.

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

‘I’ve taken pleasure 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 patients and staff.

‘We are going into a period of critical improvement for our NHS. ‘With a more powerful relationship in between the Department for Health and Social Care and NHS England, we will work together with the speed and urgency needed to meet the scale of the challenge.’

Since June in 2015, NHS England utilized simply under 15,000 full-time equivalent staff, consisting of permanent, short-lived 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 percent 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 national medical director, revealed last week he would step down this summertime

UNISON head of health Helga Pile said: ‘Staff will be naturally concerned 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 actually currently been through the mill with limitless rounds of reorganisation. What was currently a stressful possibility has actually now ended up being more like a headache.

‘Fixing a damaged NHS requires a correct strategy, with central bodies resourced and managed successfully so local services are supported.

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

Matthew Taylor, president of the NHS Confederation, stated: ‘These modifications are occurring at a scale and pace not anticipated to begin with, however given the substantial savings that the NHS requires to make this year it makes sense to minimize locations of duplication at a national level and for the NHS to be led by a leaner centre.

‘NHS England has currently provided considerable cost savings and helped to deliver enhancements in productivity, however nationwide bodies and regional NHS leaders understand that more is needed this year.

‘These changes represent the greatest reshaping of the NHS’s nationwide architecture in more than a years. It is essential that local NHS organisations and other bodies are involved in this improvement as the instant next actions end up being clearer, so that an optimal operating design can be produced.

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

Wes Streeting