The merging of the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England will be a ‘fundamental redesign’ of the size, shape and role of the centre, according to Sir Jim Mackey.
In a letter to the Health and Social Care Committee (HSCC) responding to questions raised during an evidence session in September, Sir Jim said it would ‘not simply be a merger of DHSC and NHS England where both organisations’ current functions are combined’.
He added that this would require designing a new DHSC ‘from the ground up’.
In the letter, published this week, said: ‘The task over the coming year is to assess how best to structure a future DHSC within a wider system to deliver the various functions conferred by legislation.
‘This will involve designing the proposed new DHSC from the ground up and is therefore not a straightforward mapping of NHS England’s current functions across to a future DHSC. The executive team will lead this process, drawing on lessons learned from the current integration and engaging staff in meaningful consultation at every stage. We will continue to provide regular updates to the committee as the work progresses.’
Before this is completed, Sir Jim said there would be some ‘pragmatic changes’ made to allow the two organisations to ‘better serve ministers and the health and social care system’.
These include the interim joint leadership team that will lead the organisations while legislation goes through parliament to formalise the changes.
He said: ‘We have mapped the different functions of DHSC and NHSE to this joint executive structure, and from the 3 November, all staff started working to the new joint executive team, whilst remaining in their respective organisation and fulfilling their necessary statutory duties.
‘These changes are interim measures to drive greater collaboration and support delivery of the Government’s priorities. They in no way pre-empt the detailed design work for the future DHSC. Trade Unions have been engaged on the plans.’
It was announced in March that NHS England was to be abolished, with functions brought back into the DHSC. Over 200 NHS organisations are also set to be scrapped under the 10 year plan.
Meanwhile ICBs were told to cut costs by 50% in March, with redundancies estimated to cost around £1bn in total.
But the lack of clear plan for NHS England’s abolition has been criticised by MPs. Earlier this month, MPs said announcing major reforms to the NHS without plans or funding was ‘poor practice’.
Two further ICBs have said they are exploring clustering in London, a while after the confirmation of other clusters and mergers across the country.
