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Wes Streeting Cuts NHS HQ Staff Numbers In Half

Plans to cut personnel numbers in half at NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care were revealed yesterday amid extreme cost-cutting procedures.

The ‘bonfire of bureaucrats’ is focused on eliminating duplication across the organisations after their workforces swelled throughout the pandemic.

Health secretary Wes Streeting is likewise 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 revealed they will give up at the end of this month, following the recent resignations of president Amanda Pritchard and nationwide medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis.

The 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 overseeing the day to day running of the health service and its long-term technique.

It was developed by the Tories in 2013 to give it greater political independence but Mr Streeting is eager to restore tighter control from within his Department.

stated in a declaration: ‘As part of the requirement to make best possible usage of taxpayers’ money to support frontline services, the size of NHS England will be drastically decreased and might see the size of the centre decline 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 2 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, in the middle of 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 primary operating officer Emily Lawson (ideal) are among the newest employers 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 decrease and improving of the centre with the Department of Health and Social Care’.

He said: ‘We understand that today’s news is unsettling for our personnel, and we have considerable difficulties and modifications ahead.’We aim to have a shift group in location to start on the first 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 stated I think the time is best for radical reform of the size and functions of the centre to best assistance regional NHS systems and suppliers to provide 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 changes in our relationship with DHSC to eliminate duplication’.

Mr Streeting stated: ‘I want to put on record my thanks to Julian, Emily and Steve for their commitment as public servants, and their work in specific helping steer the NHS through the pandemic.

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

‘We are going into a duration of important transformation 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 challenge.’

Since June last year, NHS England utilized just under 15,000 full-time comparable staff, consisting of irreversible, temporary 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 monetary officer Julian Kelly has actually also included 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 stated: ‘Staff will be naturally concerned about this unexpected change of instructions.

‘The number of redundancies being sought at NHS England has 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 difficult possibility has now ended up being more like a headache.

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

‘Rushing through cuts brings a risk of developing an even more, more complex mess and could eventually hold the NHS back. That would pull down the very individuals who require it most, the patients.’

Matthew Taylor, president of the NHS Confederation, said: ‘These modifications are happening at a scale and rate not anticipated to begin with, however given the big cost savings that the NHS needs to make this year it makes sense to lower areas of duplication at a nationwide level and for the NHS to be led by a leaner centre.

‘NHS England has actually currently provided considerable cost savings and helped to deliver improvements in performance, but national bodies and regional NHS leaders understand that more is needed this year.

‘These changes represent the greatest reshaping of the NHS’s nationwide architecture in more than a years. It is necessary that regional NHS organisations and other bodies are associated with this transformation as the instant next actions end up being clearer, so that an optimal operating design can be created.

‘This should be about doing things differently for the advantage of local neighborhoods as both patients and taxpayers, in addition to for personnel ahead of yearly study results on Thursday that are yet again expected to reveal the severe challenges they deal with.’

Wes Streeting