NHS England to be abolished

[Amity Island]

The government has announced NHS England will be abolished to "cut bureaucracy" and reform how the National Health Service is run.

Around 9,000 administrative roles are being cut at NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care as part of the changes - amounting to roughly half of all roles at the two organisations.

What does NHS England do? And why is it being abolished?

As part of Your Voice, Your BBC, we answer questions from you on government plans to scrap NHS England.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Bruce Stephens]

Your title probably needs a little tweaking...

 

[Amity Island]

West Streeting has raised eyebrows as he warned that there is 'far more change to come', saying the Government's move to abolish NHS England was just the tip of the iceberg.

Wes Streeting identifies 'hundreds' more NHS quangos at risk of axeing

West Streeting has raised eyebrows as he warned that there is 'far more change to come', saying the Government's move to abolish NHS England was just the tip of the iceberg.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[Bruce Stephens]

West Streeting has raised eyebrows as he warned that there is 'far more change to come', saying the Government's move to abolish NHS England was just the tip of the iceberg.

Wes Streeting identifies 'hundreds' more NHS quangos at risk of axeing

West Streeting has raised eyebrows as he warned that there is 'far more change to come', saying the Government's move to abolish NHS England was just the tip of the iceberg.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Oh, true. But at least for now, the plan is yet another reorganisation rather than replacement. I suspect we'd find everyone involved would still say they're committed to the NHS, and even after he's done all he has planned I suspect it'll feel rather similar to how it does now.

 

[nonethewiser]

Time will tell if it makes any difference to waiting times.

At least it's diverted attention away from taking away pensioners winer fuel allowance & changes to disabled benefits.

 

[Docb]

Moderators note.... Thread title changed

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Thanks @Docb

 

[Amity Island]

No the NHS remains the NHS. The "NHS England" that they are referring to is not the NHS "brand" as you call it, just the name/title of a quango which was created to try to make the the NHS more efficient but has clearly failed. It is just a very large extra layer of administration which is what many people believe is wrong with the NHS.... too much admin and not enough front line staff.
Hopefully this will be a positive step, although I do sympathise with the people who will lose their jobs as a result. The NHS will continue much the same as always.

Yes, I agree it's positive news (nothing to panic about). Service to patients will remain. just less bureaucracy.

 

[JITR]

This organisation chart of Who's Who at NHS England shows what is being abolished. No wonder Kier Starmer and Wes Streeting were frustrated.

One of the board, Jim Mackey, is replacing the NHS CEO, Amanda Pritchard who has resigned. This is on an interim basis. He has called in all the NHS Finance chiefs and told them their budgets are not good enough and to come up with savings. It's a start.

 

[Docb]

Interesting chart JITR. Did you notice that each of the regional teams had different structures.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

NHS England has been part of the NHS only since 2011 I think. It used to be called NHS Commissioning Board for England. It’s quite separate to the rest of the NHS in England.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

“NHS England” is a specific management organisation / advisory body. It has been part of the NHS only since 2011 I think.

Its introduction at the time was rather controversial (people suggested it was just adding a layer of bureaucracy).

 

[harbottle]

Its introduction at the time was rather controversial (people suggested it was just adding a layer of bureaucracy).

Probably setup to ease the way forward for privatisation by making it independent of the government and ripe to be taken over by some horrendous US corporation.

My wife works for the NHS (Which isn't being abolished, just in case people were wondering) and done some work with NHS England. It's just full of middle managers. No one will notice it's gone, just like no one mourns the loss of all those other quangos - BECTA, QECD, etc, etc.

 

[Docb]

Its introduction at the time was rather controversial (people suggested it was just adding a layer of bureaucracy).

There were also those who, in my opinion with good reason, thought it was introduced to distance the DOH from the management of the NHS as a necessary first step towards the eventual privatisation of health services in Britain.

It was inevitable that NHS England would be dismantled as soon as a non Conservative government was elected. The fact that it became overblown and that the NHS has deteriorated under their "stewardship" just made it easier to get rid of. I don't know if anybody watched when Streeting made the announcement in the commons, but I don't recall anybody opposing the changes with any vigour, not even those who so enthusiastically welcomed it when it was introduced.