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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 in the middle of drastic cost-cutting procedures.

The ‘bonfire of bureaucrats’ is targeted at getting rid of duplication throughout the organisations after their workforces swelled throughout 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 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 president Amanda Pritchard and national medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis.

The newest 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 charged with managing the daily running of the health service and its long-term technique.

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

NHS England stated in a statement: ‘As part of the requirement to make finest possible usage of taxpayers’ money to support frontline services, the size of NHS England will be drastically lowered and might 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 also looking for to tighten his control over the NHS, in the middle of strategies 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 primary running officer Emily Lawson (right) are amongst the current employers to sign up with 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 radical decrease and reshaping of the centre with the Department of Health and Social Care’.

He said: ‘We understand that today’s news is unsettling for our staff, and we have substantial obstacles and modifications ahead.’We aim to have a shift team in location to start on the 1st April 2025 to assist lead us through this duration.’

Ms Pritchard stated in a note to personnel, seen by the Health Service Journal: ‘In the last number 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 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, delivering considerable modifications in our relationship with DHSC to remove duplication’.

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

‘I’ve taken pleasure in working with each of them over the last 8 months and I have actually been impressed by their ability and focus on delivering enhancement for patients and personnel.

‘We are going into a period of vital change for our NHS. ‘With a more powerful relationship in between the Department for Health and Social Care and NHS England, we will collaborate with the speed and urgency required to satisfy the scale of the obstacle.’

As of June last year, NHS England employed simply under 15,000 full-time comparable personnel, including permanent, short-term 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 chief monetary Kelly has likewise added his name to leaders resigning from their positions

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

UNISON head of health Helga Pile stated: ‘Staff will be understandably worried about this abrupt change of direction.

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

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

‘Fixing a damaged NHS needs an appropriate 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 complicated mess and might eventually hold the NHS back. That would let down the very individuals who require it most, the clients.’

Matthew Taylor, president of the NHS Confederation, said: ‘These modifications are happening at a scale and rate not prepared for to start with, however offered the substantial cost savings that the NHS needs to make this year it makes sense to minimize areas of duplication at a national level and for the NHS to be led by a leaner centre.

‘NHS England has currently provided substantial savings and assisted to provide improvements in efficiency, however nationwide bodies and regional NHS leaders understand that more is needed this year.

‘These modifications represent the most significant reshaping of the NHS’s nationwide architecture in more than a years. It is essential that regional NHS organisations and other bodies are involved in this change as the instant next actions become clearer, so that a maximum operating model can be developed.

‘This should be about doing things in a different way for the benefit of local communities as both patients and taxpayers, along with for staff ahead of yearly survey results on Thursday that are yet once again expected to reveal the severe challenges they deal with.’

Wes Streeting