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 revealed yesterday amidst extreme cost-cutting procedures.

The ‘bonfire of bureaucrats’ is targeted at removing duplication throughout the organisations after their workforces swelled during the pandemic.

Health secretary Wes Streeting is likewise seeking to tighten his control over the NHS, provide better value for taxpayers and free-up cash 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 chief executive Amanda Pritchard and national medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis.

The newest leaders to join the exodus are Julian Kelly, the primary financial officer, Emily Lawson, the chief running officer, and Steve Russell, the chief delivery officer and nationwide director for vaccination and screening.

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

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

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

The deeper staffing cuts follow a decrease 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 seeking 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 (ideal) are among the latest managers to sign up with the exodus

Sir Jim Mackey, who will become interim chief executive at the start of April, will establish a transition team within NHS England to ‘lead the extreme reduction 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 significant difficulties and changes ahead.’We aim to have a shift group in place to start on the first April 2025 to help lead us through this period.’

Ms Pritchard stated in a note to personnel, seen by the Health Service Journal: ‘In the last number of weeks, I have stated I think the time is right for radical reform of the size and functions of the centre to best support regional NHS systems and companies to deliver for clients and drive the government’s reform top priorities.’

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

Mr Streeting stated: ‘I ‘d like to put on record my thanks to Julian, Emily and Steve for their commitment as public servants, and their operate in specific helping steer the NHS through the pandemic.

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

‘We are getting in a period of crucial transformation for our NHS. ‘With a stronger relationship in between the Department for Health and Social Care and NHS England, we will interact with the speed and seriousness required to meet the scale of the challenge.’

Since June in 2015, NHS England utilized simply under 15,000 full-time comparable staff, consisting of long-term, momentary 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 nationwide medical director, announced last week he would step down this summertime

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

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

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

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

‘Rushing through cuts brings a threat of creating an even more, more complex mess and might eventually hold the NHS back. That would let down the very people who require it most, the patients.’

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, stated: ‘These modifications are taking place at a scale and pace not prepared for to begin with, however provided the big savings that the NHS needs to make this year it makes good sense to minimize locations of duplication at a nationwide level and for the NHS to be led by a leaner centre.

‘NHS England has currently delivered significant savings and assisted to provide improvements in efficiency, but nationwide bodies and regional NHS leaders 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 very important that regional NHS organisations and other bodies are associated with this improvement as the immediate next actions become clearer, so that an optimal operating design can be produced.

‘This must have to do with doing things differently for the advantage of regional communities as both patients and taxpayers, as well as for staff ahead of yearly survey results on Thursday that are yet once again anticipated to reveal the extreme obstacles they deal with.’

Wes Streeting