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 amidst drastic cost-cutting procedures.
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 also seeking to tighten his control over the NHS, deliver better value for taxpayers and free-up money for the frontline.
Three more NHS England board members the other day revealed they will quit at the end of this month, following the recent resignations of chief executive Amanda Pritchard and nationwide medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis.
The most current leaders to sign up with the exodus are Julian Kelly, the chief financial 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 day to day running of the health service and its long-lasting strategy.
It was developed by the Tories in 2013 to offer it greater political self-reliance however Mr Streeting is eager to gain back tighter control from within his Department.
NHS England said in a declaration: ‘As part of the requirement to make best possible use of taxpayers’ cash 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 reduction of about 4,000 to 6,000 workers 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 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 (best) are amongst the most recent bosses to sign up with the exodus
Sir Jim Mackey, who will end up being interim president at the start of April, will establish a transition team within NHS England to ‘lead the radical reduction and reshaping of the centre with the Department of Health and Social Care’.
He stated: ‘We know that today’s news is unsettling for our staff, and we have substantial obstacles and changes ahead.’We aim to have a shift team in location to start on the 1st April 2025 to assist lead us through this period.’
Ms Pritchard stated in a note to staff, seen by the Health Service Journal: ‘In the last couple 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 service providers to provide for clients and drive the government’s reform top 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 eliminate 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 helping guide the NHS through the .
‘I have actually delighted in working with each of them over the last 8 months and I have actually been impressed by their ability and focus on providing improvement for clients and staff.
‘We are going into a duration of vital 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 satisfy the scale of the obstacle.’
Since June last year, NHS England utilized simply under 15,000 full-time comparable staff, including long-term, 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 added his name to leaders resigning from their positions
Professor Stephen Powis, the NHS national medical director, revealed recently he would step down this summer
UNISON head of health Helga Pile said: ‘Staff will be not surprisingly worried about this sudden change of direction.
‘The variety of redundancies being sought at NHS England has trebled in just a matter of weeks.
‘Em ployees there have actually currently been through the mill with limitless rounds of reorganisation. What was already a demanding prospect has actually now ended up being more like a nightmare.
‘Fixing a broken NHS requires an appropriate plan, with main bodies resourced and handled effectively so regional services are supported.
‘Rushing through cuts brings a danger of producing an even more, more complex mess and could ultimately hold the NHS back. That would let down the very individuals who need it most, the patients.’
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: ‘These changes are occurring at a scale and speed not expected to begin with, however provided the big savings that the NHS requires to make this year it makes good sense to lower areas of duplication at a national level and for the NHS to be led by a leaner centre.
‘NHS England has actually already provided significant cost savings and helped to provide enhancements in efficiency, but national bodies and local NHS leaders know that more is needed this year.
‘These modifications represent the most significant improving of the NHS’s national architecture in more than a years. It is necessary that regional NHS organisations and other bodies are involved in this transformation as the immediate next steps become clearer, so that an optimum operating model can be developed.
‘This must be about doing things in a different way for the benefit of regional neighborhoods as both clients and taxpayers, as well as for staff ahead of yearly survey results on Thursday that are yet again expected to show the severe challenges they deal with.’
Wes Streeting