Yesterday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced that NHS England will be abolished in a bid to “cut bureaucracy” and return management of the health service to “democratic control.” The Labour leader made the announcement during a speech in Hull on 13 March.
Starmer explained that dismantling NHS England would help to put the health service back “at the heart of government, where it belongs”. The Prime Minister promised that removing this body would allow the NHS to focus more on patient care, reduce administrative overheads, and free up funds for frontline services, including for nurses.
For those who may not be familiar, NHS England is a non-departmental public body that leads and manages the NHS in England to ensure the provision of high-quality healthcare services. However, Starmer has described NHS England as an unnecessary “duplication” of the NHS, and the funds previously allocated to it will now be redirected to services directly benefiting patients.
Under the current structure, NHS England works alongside other NHS organisations to manage budgets, oversee planning and delivery, and directly commission general practitioners, dentists, optometrists, and some specialist services. However, with this new change, NHS England will be absorbed into the Department of Health and Social Care, which is already responsible for overseeing the NHS.
Prime Minister Starmer explained his reasoning: “I can’t in all honesty explain to the British people why they should spend their money on two layers of bureaucracy. That money could and should be spent on nurses, doctors, operations, GP appointments. So today, I can announce we’re going to cut bureaucracy, focus the government on the priorities of working people, and shift money to the frontline.”
Starmer further highlighted the inefficiencies caused by the duplication of roles between NHS England and the Department of Health. He stated: “If you can believe it, we’ve got a communications team in NHS England, we’ve got a communications team in the health department of the government. We’ve got a strategy team in NHS England, a strategy team in the government department. We’re duplicating things that could be done at once.”
Health Secretary Wes Streeting welcomed the move, describing it as “the final nail in the coffin” of the controversial 2012 reorganisation, which he claimed had led to longer waiting times, lower patient satisfaction, and higher costs for the NHS. He added, “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.”
The announcement comes just a month after Amanda Pritchard, Chief Executive of NHS England, resigned from her post after serving since 2021.
The plans to abolish NHS England represent a significant shift in how the health service will be managed in the future, with the government’s focus on reducing overheads and directing funds more efficiently to frontline services.
