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 the other day amidst extreme cost-cutting steps.

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

Health secretary Wes Streeting is also looking for to tighten his control over the NHS, provide better value 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 current resignations of primary executive Amanda Pritchard and national medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis.

The current leaders 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-lasting method.

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

NHS England stated in a declaration: ‘As part of the 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 decrease by around half.’

The much deeper staffing cuts follow a decrease of about 4,000 to 6,000 staff members at NHS England over the past two 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, amid 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 shipment officer Steve Russell (left) and primary operating officer Emily Lawson (best) are among the newest managers to join the exodus

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

He said: ‘We understand that today’s news is disturbing for our staff, and we have considerable difficulties and changes ahead.’We intend to have a shift team in place to begin on the first April 2025 to help lead us through this period.’

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

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

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

‘I have actually delighted in dealing with each of them over the last 8 months and I have actually been impressed by their ability and concentrate on delivering improvement for clients and staff.

‘We are going into a period of important change for our NHS. ‘With a stronger relationship between the Department for Health and Social Care and NHS England, we will interact with the speed and seriousness needed to satisfy the scale of the challenge.’

Since June in 2015, NHS England utilized just under 15,000 full-time equivalent staff, including permanent, short-term and consultancy. The Department of Health and Social Care had around 9,000, including the UK Health Security Agency. These are both around 30 per cent more than in January 2020.

NHS England chief financial officer Julian Kelly has likewise included his name to leaders resigning from their positions

Professor Stephen Powis, the NHS nationwide medical director, announced last week he would step down this summer season

UNISON head of health Helga Pile stated: ‘Staff will be not surprisingly worried about this abrupt modification of direction.

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

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

‘Fixing a damaged NHS requires a correct strategy, with main bodies resourced and handled efficiently so local services are supported.

‘Rushing through cuts brings a threat of producing 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, president of the NHS Confederation, stated: ‘These changes are taking place at a scale and pace not expected to begin with, but given the big cost savings that the NHS requires to make this year it makes good sense to decrease areas of duplication at a nationwide level and for the NHS to be led by a leaner centre.

‘NHS England has already provided substantial savings and assisted to deliver enhancements in productivity, however national bodies and local NHS leaders understand that more is needed this year.

‘These modifications represent the greatest reshaping of the NHS’s nationwide architecture in more than a decade. It is essential that regional NHS organisations and other bodies are associated with this change as the immediate next steps become clearer, so that an optimum operating model can be developed.

‘This should have to do with doing things in a different way for the benefit of local neighborhoods as both clients and taxpayers, as well as for personnel ahead of yearly survey results on Thursday that are yet once again expected to reveal the severe challenges they face.’

Wes Streeting