Plans to cut staff numbers in half at NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care were unveiled yesterday in the middle of drastic cost-cutting steps.

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

Health secretary Wes Streeting is also looking for to tighten his control over the NHS, provide much better value for taxpayers and free-up money for the frontline.

Three more NHS England board members yesterday announced they will stop 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 join the exodus are Julian Kelly, the primary financial officer, Emily Lawson, the chief operating officer, and Steve Russell, the chief shipment officer and nationwide director for vaccination and screening.

NHS England is the nationwide quango entrusted with managing the daily running of the health service and its long-term strategy.

It was established by the Tories in 2013 to give it greater political self-reliance however Mr Streeting is eager to restore tighter control from within his Department.

NHS England said in a statement: 'As part of the need to make finest possible use of taxpayers' cash to support frontline services, the size of NHS England will be radically and might 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 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 seeking to tighten his control over the NHS, amid plans 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 primary operating officer Emily Lawson (ideal) are among the most recent bosses to join the exodus

Sir Jim Mackey, who will become interim primary executive at the start of April, will establish a shift group within NHS England to 'lead the radical decrease and improving of the centre with the Department of Health and Social Care'.

He stated: 'We understand that today's news is upsetting for our staff, and we have considerable difficulties and modifications ahead.'We aim to have a shift team in place to begin on the 1st April 2025 to help 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 actually stated I think the time is right for extreme reform of the size and functions of the centre to best assistance regional NHS systems and suppliers to provide for clients and drive the government's reform concerns.'

She stated Mr Streeting had asked Sir Jim and Penny Dash, the inbound NHS England chair, to 'lead this work, delivering significant changes 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 work in specific assisting guide the NHS through the pandemic.

'I have actually delighted in working with each of them over the last eight months and I have actually been impressed by their ability and focus on providing improvement for patients and staff.

'We are entering a period of vital transformation for our NHS. 'With a more powerful relationship between the Department for Health and Social Care and NHS England, we will work together with the speed and seriousness needed to satisfy the scale of the challenge.'

Since June last year, NHS England utilized simply under 15,000 full-time equivalent personnel, consisting of permanent, 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 percent more than in January 2020.

NHS England primary financial officer Julian Kelly has actually likewise included his name to leaders resigning from their positions

Professor Stephen Powis, the NHS national medical director, announced recently he would step down this summer

UNISON head of health Helga Pile said: 'Staff will be understandably concerned about this abrupt modification of direction.

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

'Em ployees there have already been through the mill with limitless rounds of reorganisation. What was currently a stressful prospect has now become more like a nightmare.

'Fixing a broken NHS requires a proper plan, with central bodies resourced and handled effectively so local services are supported.

'Rushing through cuts brings a risk of developing an even more, more complex mess and might eventually hold the NHS back. That would let down the very people who require it most, the clients.'

Matthew Taylor, president of the NHS Confederation, said: 'These changes are occurring at a scale and speed not anticipated to start with, but provided the big savings that the NHS requires to make this year it makes good sense to minimize locations of duplication at a national level and for the NHS to be led by a leaner centre.

'NHS England has already delivered significant cost savings and helped to deliver improvements in productivity, but national bodies and regional NHS leaders understand that more is needed this year.

'These changes represent the most significant improving of the NHS's national architecture in more than a years. It is very important that regional NHS organisations and other bodies are involved in this change as the instant next steps become clearer, so that a maximum operating model can be produced.

'This need to have to do with doing things in a different way for the advantage of regional neighborhoods as both clients and taxpayers, in addition to for personnel ahead of yearly survey results on Thursday that are yet once again expected to reveal the severe obstacles they deal with.'

Wes Streeting