NHS England could lose half of its officials under major restructuring plans, the health service’s leaders have said.
Staff at the organisation’s central body were told the workforce will be ‘radically reduced’, meaning thousands of jobs are at risk, ‘to make best possible use of taxpayers’ money’.
Just weeks ago, plans were unveiled to slash jobs at ‘the centre’ – the name given to the HQs for the NHS in England and the government’s Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) – by 15%, the equivalent of 2,000 jobs.
But officials said the new round of streamlining could see the ‘size of the centre decrease by around half’, meaning 6,500 jobs could be lost.
According to reports, leaders are keen to reduce duplication of work at both health bodies.
Helga Pile, head of health at Unison, said staff at the organisation would ‘be understandably concerned’ about what she described as a ‘sudden change in direction’.
She said: ‘The number of redundancies being sought at NHS England has trebled in just a matter of weeks.
‘Employees there have already been through the mill with endless rounds of reorganisation. What was already a stressful prospect has now become more like a nightmare.’
NHS England is the executive body that oversees the day-to-day operation of the health service in England. The rate of job cuts do not apply to the wider NHS across the country.
A ‘transition team’ is to be set up by Sir Jim Mackey, who will take over from Amanda Pritchard as the organisation’s chief executive on an interim basis at the beginning of next month.
Pritchard told staff in an email: ‘I know this news will be very unsettling.
‘The transition team will develop plans over the coming weeks and we know that colleagues will want this to be completed as soon as possible to provide future certainty.’
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation which represents NHS trusts in England, said the job losses were happening ‘at a scale and pace not anticipated to begin with’.
However, he added it ‘makes sense to reduce areas of duplication at a national level’, ‘given the huge savings that the NHS needs to make this year’.
Pritchard announced in February she would be stepping down, and three other members of the top team are also leaving at the end of this month in a major shake-up.
Medical director Sir Stephen Powis is also departing in the summer.
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