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 drastic cost-cutting steps.

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

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

Three more NHS England board members yesterday announced they will quit at the end of this month, following the current resignations of president Amanda Pritchard and nationwide medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis.

The latest 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 nationwide director for vaccination and screening.

NHS England is the nationwide quango charged with managing the everyday running of the health service and its long-lasting technique.

It was established by the Tories in 2013 to provide it greater political self-reliance but Mr Streeting is keen to gain back tighter control from within his Department.

NHS England said in a declaration: 'As part of the need to make finest possible use of taxpayers' cash to support frontline services, the size of NHS England will be significantly lowered and could 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 workers 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, amidst strategies 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 shipment officer Steve Russell (left) and running officer Emily Lawson (right) are amongst the most recent managers to join the exodus

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

He said: 'We understand that today's news is unsettling for our personnel, and we have substantial obstacles and modifications ahead.'We intend to have a shift team in place to begin on the 1st April 2025 to assist 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 said I think the time is ideal for radical reform of the size and functions of the centre to finest assistance regional NHS systems and providers to deliver for clients and drive the government's reform concerns.'

She said 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 said: 'I 'd like to put on record my thanks to Julian, Emily and Steve for their dedication as public servants, and their operate in particular helping steer the NHS through the pandemic.

'I have actually enjoyed dealing with each of them over the last 8 months and I have actually been impressed by their skill and focus on delivering improvement for patients and staff.

'We are going into a period of vital transformation for our NHS. 'With a more powerful relationship in between the Department for Health and Social Care and NHS England, we will work together with the speed and urgency required to fulfill the scale of the obstacle.'

As of June last year, NHS England used just under 15,000 full-time comparable staff, including irreversible, temporary 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 chief financial officer Julian Kelly has actually also added his name to leaders resigning from their positions

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

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

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

'Em ployees there have actually already been through the mill with limitless rounds of reorganisation. What was currently a stressful prospect has now ended up being more like a problem.

'Fixing a broken NHS requires a correct strategy, with main bodies resourced and handled effectively so regional services are supported.

'Rushing through cuts brings a danger of producing an even more, 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, said: 'These changes are taking place at a scale and speed not prepared for to begin with, however provided the big cost savings that the NHS needs to make this year it makes sense to decrease locations of duplication at a national level and for the NHS to be led by a leaner centre.

'NHS England has actually currently provided significant cost savings and assisted to deliver enhancements in efficiency, but national bodies and regional NHS leaders know that more is needed this year.

'These modifications represent the most significant reshaping of the NHS's national architecture in more than a decade. It is crucial that regional NHS organisations and other bodies are included in this improvement as the instant next actions become clearer, so that an optimum operating design can be developed.

'This need to be about doing things differently for the advantage of regional communities as both clients and taxpayers, in addition to for staff ahead of annual study results on Thursday that are yet again anticipated to show the extreme challenges they face.'

Wes Streeting