Health leaders have called for a national staff redundancy fund to help with the budget cuts they are required to make this year.
ICBs have been told they must cut their running costs by around 50% by October 2025, with the new chief executive of NHS England Sir James Mackey suggesting some could have to cut by more than this.
However, NHS Confederation has said that without access to a national fund, redundancy programmes will take much longer to deliver and the amount of savings that can be made from job cuts will be reduced.
Some ICBs were likely to remove anywhere between 300 and 400 roles, it added.
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: ‘Health leaders understand the troubling financial situation facing the country and the need to improve efficiency where they can, as they have already demonstrated by significantly reducing their planned deficit for the year ahead.
‘However, the scale and pace of what has been asked of them to downsize is staggering and leaves them fearful of being able to find the right balance between improving performance and implementing the reforms needed to put the NHS on a sustainable footing.
‘They have told us that unless the Treasury urgently creates a national redundancy fund to cover these job losses, any savings the government hopes to make risks being eroded, at best and completely wiped out, at worst. If the Ten-Year Plan for Health is to be realised, it requires the NHS to be in a position of financial stability.’
ICBs have been told to focus on reducing duplication when making cuts, such as assurance and regulatory functions, wider performance management and communications and engagement functions.
