Plans to cut personnel numbers in half at NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care were unveiled the other day in the middle of extreme cost-cutting measures.

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 likewise seeking to tighten his control over the NHS, deliver much better value for taxpayers and free-up cash for the frontline.

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

The most recent leaders to join the exodus are Julian Kelly, the chief financial 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 charged with managing the everyday running of the health service and its long-term strategy.

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

NHS England stated in a declaration: 'As part of the requirement to make best possible use of taxpayers' cash to support frontline services, the size of NHS England will be radically decreased and could see the size of the centre reduction by around half.'

The much deeper staffing cuts follow a reduction of about 4,000 to 6,000 workers at NHS England over the previous two years and about 800 at the Department of Health and Social Care.

Health secretary Wes Streeting is also seeking to tighten his control over the NHS, amidst strategies 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 (right) are among the current employers to join 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 extreme reduction and reshaping of the centre with the Department of Health and Social Care'.

He said: 'We understand that today's news is disturbing for our personnel, and we have considerable challenges and changes ahead.'We aim to have a shift team in location to begin on the 1st 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 believe the time is right for radical reform of the size and functions of the centre to best assistance local NHS systems and suppliers to provide for clients and drive the federal government's reform priorities.'

She said Mr Streeting had asked Sir Jim and Penny Dash, the inbound NHS England chair, to 'lead this work, delivering considerable modifications in our relationship with DHSC to get rid of duplication'.

Mr Streeting said: 'I want to put on record my thanks to Julian, Emily and Steve for their devotion as public servants, and their work in specific helping guide the NHS through the pandemic.

'I've enjoyed working with each of them over the last eight months and I've been impressed by their skill and focus on delivering enhancement for clients and staff.

'We are entering a period of important transformation for our NHS. 'With a stronger relationship between the Department for Health and Social Care and NHS England, we will work together with the speed and seriousness required to fulfill the scale of the difficulty.'

As of June in 2015, NHS England employed simply under 15,000 full-time comparable staff, consisting of irreversible, short-term 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 percent more than in January 2020.

NHS England chief monetary officer Julian Kelly has likewise 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 season

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

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

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

'Fixing a damaged NHS requires a proper strategy, with main bodies resourced and managed efficiently so regional services are supported.

'Rushing through cuts brings a risk of creating a further, more complicated mess and might ultimately hold the NHS back. That would let down the very people who require it most, the clients.'

Matthew Taylor, president of the NHS Confederation, stated: 'These modifications are occurring at a scale and pace not anticipated to start with, however given the huge savings that the NHS needs to make this year it makes good sense to decrease areas of duplication at a nationwide level and for the NHS to be led by a leaner centre.

'NHS England has actually already delivered substantial cost savings and assisted to provide enhancements in productivity, but national bodies and regional NHS leaders know that more is required this year.

'These modifications represent the most significant reshaping of the NHS's national architecture in more than a years. It is necessary that local NHS organisations and other bodies are associated with this improvement as the instant next actions become clearer, so that an optimum operating design can be produced.

'This should be about doing things differently for the benefit of regional neighborhoods as both clients and taxpayers, in addition to for staff ahead of annual survey results on Thursday that are yet again expected to show the severe challenges they face.'

Wes Streeting