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 yesterday in the middle of extreme cost-cutting steps.

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

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

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

The most recent leaders to join the exodus are Julian Kelly, the chief monetary officer, Emily Lawson, the officer, and Steve Russell, the chief shipment officer and nationwide director for vaccination and screening.

NHS England is the national quango tasked with overseeing the daily running of the health service and its long-lasting strategy.

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

NHS England stated in a declaration: ‘As part of the requirement to make finest possible use of taxpayers’ money to support frontline services, the size of NHS England will be drastically reduced and could see the size of the centre decrease by around half.’

The much deeper staffing cuts follow a reduction of about 4,000 to 6,000 staff members at NHS England over the previous 2 years and about 800 at the Department of Health and Social Care.

Health secretary Wes Streeting is also looking for to tighten his control over the NHS, amidst 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 chief operating officer Emily Lawson (best) are among the most current managers to sign up with the exodus

Sir Jim Mackey, who will become interim president at the start of April, will set up a shift group within NHS England to ‘lead the radical reduction and improving of the centre with the Department of Health and Social Care’.

He stated: ‘We understand that today’s news is upsetting for our staff, and we have considerable challenges and modifications ahead.’We intend to have a shift team in location to start on the first April 2025 to help 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 stated I think the time is best for radical reform of the size and functions of the centre to best assistance local NHS systems and companies to provide for clients and drive the federal government’s reform top priorities.’

She said Mr Streeting had actually asked Sir Jim and Penny Dash, the inbound NHS England chair, to ‘lead this work, delivering substantial modifications 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 dedication 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 eight months and I’ve been impressed by their ability and concentrate on delivering improvement for clients and staff.

‘We are entering a duration of critical 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 fulfill the scale of the difficulty.’

Since June in 2015, NHS England utilized just under 15,000 full-time comparable personnel, including permanent, short-lived 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 primary monetary officer Julian Kelly has also added his name to leaders resigning from their positions

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

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

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

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

‘Fixing a broken NHS needs a proper plan, with main bodies resourced and handled effectively so local services are supported.

‘Rushing through cuts brings a threat of developing a further, more complex mess and might eventually hold the NHS back. That would let down the very individuals who need it most, the patients.’

Matthew Taylor, primary executive of the NHS Confederation, said: ‘These changes are happening at a scale and speed not anticipated to begin with, but offered the huge cost savings that the NHS needs to make this year it makes sense to lower 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 savings and helped to provide improvements in efficiency, however nationwide bodies and regional NHS leaders know that more is required this year.

‘These changes represent the greatest reshaping of the NHS’s national architecture in more than a decade. It is crucial that regional NHS organisations and other bodies are involved in this change as the immediate next actions become clearer, so that an optimal operating design can be produced.

‘This should have to do with doing things in a different way for the benefit of regional neighborhoods as both clients and taxpayers, along with for staff ahead of yearly study results on Thursday that are yet again anticipated to reveal the extreme difficulties they deal with.’

Wes Streeting