Sir Keir Starmer announced yesterday that he will abolish NHS England to bring the NHS into “democratic control”.
In an address at British consumer goods company Reckitt, the prime minister said there is too much regulation. He said he wants to “cut bureaucracy across the state” and “shift money to the frontline”.
He said management of the NHS should be “at the heart of the government, where it belongs”.
He added: “I don’t see why decisions about £200bn of taxpayer money, on something as fundamental to our security as the NHS, should be taken my arms-length body NHS England.
“I can’t, in all honesty, explain to the British people why they should spend their money on two layers of bureaucracy [NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC)].
“That money could and should be spent on nurses, doctors, operations, GP appointments.”
However, organisations like Epilepsy Action are concerned over the practicalities of the restructure and warn that people with conditions like epilepsy can’t be “left in limbo” while it is carried out.
Transformation period
NHS England was established in 2013, to function as an arm’s-length body responsible for delivering safe and high-quality care, supporting NHS staff and deliver value for money.
The government plans to bring in NHS England’s work into the DHSC, which Health Secretary Wes Streeting said, in an address to Parliament following the prime minister’s announcement, would take around two years.
He said hundreds of thousands that would be saved a year will flow down to frontline workers, help cut waiting times and deliver better care.
A transformation period of bringing NHS England into the DHSC is beginning immediately.
Sir James Mackey will take over as Transition CEO of NHS England, and Dr Penny Dash will take up position as chair. Mackey paid tribute to the work of NHS England, including managing the COVID pandemic and delivering a successful vaccination campaign.
He added: “But we now need to bring NHS England and DHSC together so we can deliver the biggest bang for our buck for patients, as we look to implement the three big shifts – analogue to digital, sickness to prevention and hospital to community – and build an NHS fit for the future.”
While streamlining of processes and more money into the NHS has been welcomed, organisations are concerned over the significant job losses that will result (reportedly 9,000+) and how the practicalities will be managed. They are calling into question how programmes, services and records run by NHS England will be handled as part of this move.
Quality improvement and postcode lottery concerns
Tom Shillito, health improvement and research manager at Epilepsy Action, said: “There is no doubt the announcement of NHS England being abolished came as quite a shock for many.
“While we need to see how the reform will work in practice, it raises concerns about what it will mean for areas previously managed by NHS England and the impact this could have on the care of people with epilepsy.
“Such a massive restructure poses the risk of slowing down quality improvement work, when it was starting to gain momentum. Shifting more power to local commissioners could make the current service postcode lottery even worse. With epilepsy often being low on the priority list at best, and completely forgotten at worst, this is clearly worrying.
“There could be some potential for process improvement, but it’s unclear if we will able to see much progress in the short-term. But there are 80 new people being diagnosed with epilepsy every day. They can’t be left in limbo in the meantime.”
The prime minister said this will not be a return to austerity, but made it clear that more “tough choices” will be made.
The Spring Budget is expected to be announced on 26 March, with reports suggesting cuts will be made to benefits and welfare.
Share your thoughts by emailing: campaigns@epilepsy.org.uk
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