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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 amid drastic cost-cutting steps.

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

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

Three more NHS England board members yesterday announced they will stop at the end of this month, following the recent resignations of chief executive Amanda Pritchard and nationwide medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis.

The latest 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 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-term technique.

It was established by the Tories in 2013 to offer it higher political self-reliance but Mr Streeting is eager to gain back tighter control from within his Department.

NHS England said in a statement: ‘As part of the need to make finest possible use of taxpayers’ cash to support frontline services, the size of NHS England will be radically lowered and could see the size of the centre reduction by around half.’

The deeper staffing cuts follow a decrease of about 4,000 to 6,000 workers at NHS England over the past 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 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 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 reduction and improving of the centre with the Department of Health and Social Care’.

He stated: ‘We understand that today’s news is unsettling for our personnel, and we have substantial obstacles and changes ahead.’We intend to have a transition group in location to start on the 1st 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 number of weeks, I have actually said I believe the time is ideal for radical reform of the size and functions of the centre to finest support regional NHS systems and service providers to deliver for patients and drive the federal government’s reform priorities.’

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

Mr Streeting stated: ‘I wish to put on record my thanks to Julian, Emily and Steve for their dedication as public servants, and their operate in specific assisting guide the NHS through the pandemic.

‘I have actually enjoyed dealing with each of them over the last 8 months and I’ve been impressed by their skill and focus on providing enhancement for clients and personnel.

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

As of June in 2015, NHS England employed just under 15,000 full-time equivalent staff, including 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 per cent more than in January 2020.

NHS England chief monetary officer Julian Kelly has actually also included his name to leaders resigning from their positions

Professor Stephen Powis, the NHS nationwide medical director, revealed recently he would step down this summertime

UNISON head of health Helga Pile stated: ‘Staff will be understandably concerned about this abrupt modification of instructions.

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

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

‘Fixing a damaged NHS needs a correct plan, with central bodies resourced and managed efficiently so regional services are supported.

‘Rushing through cuts brings a risk of creating an even more, more complex mess and could ultimately hold the NHS back. That would pull down the very people who require it most, the clients.’

Matthew Taylor, primary executive of the NHS Confederation, stated: ‘These modifications are happening at a scale and pace not prepared for to begin with, but provided the big savings that the NHS requires to make this year it makes sense to lower locations of duplication at a nationwide level and for the NHS to be led by a leaner centre.

‘NHS England has already delivered substantial cost savings and helped to provide enhancements in efficiency, but nationwide bodies and local NHS leaders know that more is required this year.

‘These changes represent the biggest improving of the NHS’s national architecture in more than a years. It is essential that local NHS organisations and other bodies are associated with this transformation as the instant next steps end up being clearer, so that an optimum operating design can be created.

‘This should be about doing things differently for the advantage of local neighborhoods as both clients and taxpayers, as well as for staff ahead of annual study results on Thursday that are yet again anticipated to show the severe obstacles they deal with.’

Wes Streeting