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 the other day in the middle of extreme cost-cutting steps.

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

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

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

The most recent leaders to join the exodus are Julian Kelly, the chief 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 nationwide quango tasked with supervising the daily running of the health service and its long-term method.

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

stated in a statement: ‘As part of the need to make finest possible usage of taxpayers’ money to support frontline services, the size of NHS England will be significantly lowered 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 employees at NHS England over the previous two 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 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 chief running officer Emily Lawson (best) are among the most recent 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 team within NHS England to ‘lead the extreme decrease and reshaping of the centre with the Department of Health and Social Care’.

He said: ‘We know that today’s news is unsettling for our personnel, and we have significant difficulties and changes ahead.’We intend to have a shift team in place to start on the first April 2025 to assist lead us through this period.’

Ms Pritchard said in a note to staff, seen by the Health Service Journal: ‘In the last couple of weeks, I have actually said I think the time is right for extreme reform of the size and functions of the centre to finest assistance local NHS systems and providers to deliver for clients and drive the federal government’s reform priorities.’

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

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

‘I’ve taken pleasure in dealing with each of them over the last 8 months and I have actually been impressed by their ability and focus on providing improvement for patients and staff.

‘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 meet the scale of the difficulty.’

As of June in 2015, NHS England used simply under 15,000 full-time equivalent staff, including long-term, momentary 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 chief financial officer Julian Kelly has likewise added 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 worried about this abrupt change of instructions.

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

‘Em ployees there have already been through the mill with endless rounds of reorganisation. What was currently a difficult possibility has now become more like a headache.

‘Fixing a damaged NHS needs a correct strategy, with central bodies resourced and handled successfully so regional services are supported.

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

Matthew Taylor, president of the NHS Confederation, said: ‘These changes are happening at a scale and pace not anticipated to begin with, however given the substantial savings that the NHS needs to make this year it makes good sense to reduce locations of duplication at a national level and for the NHS to be led by a leaner centre.

‘NHS England has already provided considerable cost savings and assisted to provide improvements in performance, however national bodies and regional NHS leaders know that more is required this year.

‘These changes represent the most significant improving of the NHS’s national architecture in more than a decade. It is very important that regional NHS organisations and other bodies are associated with this change as the instant next steps end up being clearer, so that an optimal operating design can be produced.

‘This must have to do with doing things differently for the advantage of regional neighborhoods as both clients and taxpayers, along with for staff ahead of annual study results on Thursday that are yet again expected to reveal the extreme obstacles they face.’

Wes Streeting