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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 the other day amid drastic cost-cutting measures.

The ‘bonfire of bureaucrats’ is targeted at getting rid of duplication across the organisations after their labor forces swelled during the pandemic.

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

Three more NHS England board members the other day revealed they will quit at the end of this month, following the current resignations of primary executive Amanda Pritchard and national medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis.

The latest leaders to join the exodus are Julian Kelly, the primary financial officer, Emily Lawson, the chief operating officer, and Steve Russell, the chief shipment officer and national director for vaccination and screening.

NHS England is the national quango tasked with supervising the everyday running of the health service and its long-lasting method.

It was developed by the Tories in 2013 to give it higher political self-reliance however 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 usage of taxpayers’ cash to support frontline services, the size of NHS England will be drastically reduced and could see the size of the centre decrease by around half.’

The deeper staffing cuts follow a decrease of about 4,000 to 6,000 staff members at NHS England over the past 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, amid 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 running officer Emily Lawson (right) are among the newest managers to join the exodus

Sir Jim Mackey, who will become interim president at the start of April, will set up a shift team within NHS England to ‘lead the extreme reduction and improving of the centre with the Department of Health and Social Care’.

He stated: ‘We know that today’s news is disturbing for our staff, and we have substantial challenges and modifications ahead.’We aim to have a transition team in place to start on the 1st April 2025 to assist lead us through this period.’

Ms Pritchard stated in a note to personnel, seen by the Health Service Journal: ‘In the last couple of weeks, I have stated I think the time is best for radical reform of the size and functions of the centre to best assistance local NHS systems and service providers to provide for patients and drive the government’s reform top priorities.’

She stated Mr Streeting had actually asked Sir Jim and Penny Dash, the incoming NHS England chair, to ‘lead this work, delivering considerable modifications in our relationship with DHSC to remove duplication’.

Mr Streeting stated: ‘I ‘d like to put on record my thanks to Julian, Emily and Steve for their dedication as public servants, and their operate in particular helping steer 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 ability and concentrate on delivering improvement for clients and personnel.

‘We are going into a period of vital 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 urgency needed to meet the scale of the obstacle.’

As of June in 2015, NHS England used just under 15,000 full-time equivalent staff, consisting of irreversible, 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 financial officer Julian Kelly has actually 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 season

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

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

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

‘Fixing a damaged NHS needs a proper strategy, with central bodies resourced and managed effectively so regional services are supported.

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

Matthew Taylor, president of the NHS Confederation, stated: ‘These modifications are taking place at a scale and speed not expected to begin with, however provided the huge cost savings that the NHS needs to make this year it makes sense to lower locations of duplication at a national level and for the NHS to be led by a leaner centre.

‘NHS England has actually currently delivered considerable cost savings and helped to in productivity, but national bodies and local NHS leaders know that more is needed this year.

‘These changes represent the biggest improving of the NHS’s nationwide architecture in more than a decade. It is essential that regional NHS organisations and other bodies are included in this improvement as the immediate next steps end up being clearer, so that an optimum operating design can be created.

‘This must be about doing things differently for the benefit of local neighborhoods as both patients and taxpayers, in addition to for staff ahead of annual study results on Thursday that are yet once again expected to reveal the extreme obstacles they face.’

Wes Streeting