Keir Starmer has just scrapped NHS England – but what does that mean and how will it impact you?
Here’s what you need to know.
What is NHS England?
NHS England is known as a “quango”, meaning it is an non-departmental public body which operates independently of government.
The government has described NHS England as the “world’s largest quango”.
It is sponsored by the Department of Heath and Social Care and works with NHS organisations across England to deliver “better outcomes for our patients”.
It currently has seven regional teams and a workforce of 13,000.
Why is NHS England now being cut?
The prime minister announced on Thursday that he was cutting the whole organisation in a bid to “empower NHS staff and put patients first”.
NHS England will now be brought back into the Department of Health and Social Care, to end duplication between the two, as part of Labour’s wider plan to boost efficiency in the public sector, the PM said.
The prime minister’s spokesperson told journalists: “Where you’ve got teams doing the same role there’s clearly room for efficiencies and those savings can be reinvested back into frontline services.”
The government hopes this will put more resources back into the “front line rather than on unnecessary admin,” put focus back onto local communities and restore accountability in the health service.
It also comes after the NHS leaders said the NHS England faced a possible overspend of £6.6bn in the 2025/26 financial year.
Starmer claimed the move will cut back on complex bureaucracy and undo the harm caused by the 2012 reorganisation of the NHS by the Tory-led coalition government.
Ministers also pointed to Lord Darzi’s recent independent investigation into the NHS, which found the system is still struggling with those changes the Tories brought in 13 years ago.
Health secretary Wes Streeting explained that this sudden change has been motivated by UK’s current economic woes, too.
He said: “When money is so tight, we can’t justify such a complex bureaucracy with two organisations doing the same jobs. We need more doers, and fewer checkers, which is why I’m devolving resources and responsibilities to the NHS frontline.”
Sir James Mackey, who will be the Transition CEO of NHS England, said this will mean the “biggest bang for our buck for patients” and help deliver “significant savings of hundreds of millions of pounds a year”.
What happens now?
Although work has started immediately, the process of dismantling NHS England is expected to take around two years, according to the PM’s spokesperson.
Streeting told the Commons on Thursday that 10,000 roles will be scrapped.
The government has also explained that there will be three “big shifts” within the health service – analogue to digital, sickness to prevention, and hospital to community, which should free up capacity.
The Department of Health and Social Care is also expected to shrink slightly as a result of the merger, while Streeting will have more direct control over the NHS as a whole.
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