In a surprise move last week, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced that his government are abolishing NHS England in a bid to cut bureaucracy and save money.
The Prime Minister said his plan to abolish NHS England would bring the health service back into government control, save hundreds of millions of pounds every year and slash red tape to help speed up improvements.
NHS England is an independent body which directs, manages and oversees the whole of the national health service (NHS) in England. It was established in 2013 by former Conservative health secretary Andrew Lansley to allow the NHS to operate at “arm’s-length” from the government.
But, after more than a decade of operation, plans to abolish what the government described as “the world’s largest quango” have already been set in motion.
Abolishing NHS England will free up NHS “to focus on patients”
The reform, which the Prime Minister announced during a speech in Kingston upon Hull, will see management of the NHS brought back under the Department of Health and Social Care in order to “put the NHS back at the heart of government where it belongs, freeing it to focus on patients, less bureaucracy, with more money for nurses.”
Sir Keir said this would create an “NHS refocused on cutting waiting times at your hospital.”
He argued that creation of the independent body during the 2012 reorganisation of the health service had resulted in significant “duplication”, wasting money that could be spent on frontline services.
It is anticipated that abolishing NHS England could save at least £500 million a year. But the “tough choice” also puts up to 10,000 jobs at risk.
The CEO of NHS England, Sir James Mackey, said he supported the reform but admitted that the Prime Minister’s announcement had been “unsettling” for staff.
Warnings that scrapping NHS England could be disruptive and costly
Meanwhile, health think tanks warned that another reorganisation of the NHS could have a negative impact.
Hugh Alderwick, Director of Policy at The Health Foundation, asserted: “History tells us that rejigging NHS organisations is hugely distracting and rarely delivers the benefits politicians expect. Scrapping NHS England completely will cause disruption and divert time and energy of senior leaders at a time when attention should be focused on improving care for patients.”
This sentiment was echoed by many others, such as the General Secretary and Chief Executive of the Royal College of Nursing, Professor Nicola Ranger, who warned: “The chaotic reorganisation that created NHS England cost billions and took money and attention away from clinical care. Nobody can afford a repeat now that NHS performance is already at a historic low and money is scarce.”
Union bosses also criticised the handling of news of job losses, calling it “shambolic.”
Tory support for measures to “streamline NHS management”
However, key Conservative figures seemed to welcome the news.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said the government had to do “whatever it thinks it needs to do to deliver services for the public.
“So if that’s what they think is needed, then I have no qualms with that. I don’t think everything needs to go to a quango.”
But her party also cautioned the government that the dramatic move would mean they had to deliver.
Alex Burghart, the shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said the Tories “support measures to streamline NHS management and the principle of taking direct control,” but warned that government ministers “now have nowhere to hide or anyone else to blame on NHS performance.”
Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats said they welcomed the abolition of NHS England but pointed to the urgent need to reform social care to reduce the number of people needlessly stuck in hospitals across the country.
The move follows the recent resignations of key NHS England figures.
NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard stepped down from her role last month, following weeks of criticism from MPs. Her resignation was closely followed by those of three other senior managers. Then, at the beginning of March, Professor Sir Stephen Powis, Medical Director at NHS England, announced that he would also be stepping down this summer.
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