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

The 'bonfire of bureaucrats' is aimed at getting rid of duplication throughout the organisations after their workforces swelled during the pandemic.

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

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

The most recent leaders to sign up with the exodus are Julian Kelly, the primary monetary officer, Emily Lawson, the chief operating officer, and Steve Russell, the chief delivery officer and national director for vaccination and screening.

NHS England is the nationwide quango entrusted with managing the day to day running of the health service and its long-lasting strategy.

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

NHS England said in a declaration: 'As part of the need to make best possible usage of taxpayers' money to support frontline services, the size of NHS England will be radically lowered and might see the size of the centre reduction 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 likewise seeking to tighten his control over the NHS, amid plans 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 running officer Emily Lawson (right) are among the most recent managers to sign up with the exodus

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

He stated: 'We know that today's news is upsetting for our personnel, and we have significant obstacles and modifications ahead.'We intend to have a shift team in location to start on the first April 2025 to help lead us through this period.'

Ms Pritchard said 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 extreme reform of the size and functions of the centre to best assistance regional NHS systems and companies to deliver for patients and drive the government's reform priorities.'

She stated Mr Streeting had asked Sir Jim and Penny Dash, the inbound NHS England chair, to 'lead this work, delivering significant modifications in our relationship with DHSC to eliminate duplication'.

Mr Streeting stated: 'I wish 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've taken pleasure in working with each of them over the last eight months and I have actually been impressed by their ability and focus on providing enhancement for patients and personnel.

'We are entering a duration of crucial transformation for our NHS. 'With a more powerful relationship between the Department for Health and Social Care and NHS England, we will interact with the speed and seriousness needed to satisfy the scale of the difficulty.'

As of June last year, NHS England used simply under 15,000 full-time comparable personnel, including permanent, 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 primary monetary officer Julian Kelly has actually also added his name to leaders resigning from their positions

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

UNISON head of health Helga Pile stated: 'Staff will be understandably worried about this sudden modification of instructions.

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

'Em ployees there have actually already been through the mill with unlimited rounds of reorganisation. What was already a difficult prospect has actually now become more like a headache.

'Fixing a broken NHS requires a correct plan, with main bodies resourced and handled efficiently so local services are supported.

'Rushing through cuts brings a threat of producing an even more, more complex mess and could ultimately hold the NHS back. That would pull down the very people who need it most, the clients.'

Matthew Taylor, primary executive of the NHS Confederation, said: 'These changes are happening at a scale and speed not prepared for to start with, but provided the substantial cost savings that the NHS requires to make this year it makes sense to reduce locations of duplication at a nationwide level and for the NHS to be led by a leaner centre.

'NHS England has actually already delivered considerable cost savings and assisted to deliver enhancements in efficiency, however national bodies and regional NHS leaders know that more is required this year.

'These modifications represent the most significant improving of the NHS's nationwide architecture in more than a years. It is crucial that local NHS organisations and other bodies are associated with this change as the immediate next steps end up being clearer, so that an optimum operating model can be developed.

'This should be about doing things in a different way for the benefit of regional neighborhoods as both patients and taxpayers, in addition to for personnel ahead of annual survey results on Thursday that are yet again anticipated to reveal the severe obstacles they face.'

Wes Streeting