Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said NHS England will be abolished and functions brought back into the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to ‘end duplication’.
The move is to reduce bureaucracy, make savings and empower NHS staff to deliver better care for patients, according to the DHSC.
‘The reforms will reverse the 2012 top-down reorganisation of the NHS which created burdensome layers of bureaucracy without any clear lines of accountability. As Lord Darzi’s independent investigation into the state of the NHS found, the effects of this are still felt today and have left patients worse off under a convoluted and broken system,’ the announcement said.
Health secretary Wes Streeting said: ‘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.’
He added: ‘This is the final nail in the coffin of the disastrous 2012 reorganisation, which led to the longest waiting times, lowest patient satisfaction, and most expensive NHS in history.’
Sir James Mackey, who will take over as transition CEO of NHS England, said: ‘We know that while unsettling for our staff, today’s announcement will bring welcome clarity as we focus on tackling the significant challenges ahead and delivering on the government’s priorities for patients.
‘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.’
Incoming NHS England chair, Dr Penny Dash said: ‘I am committed to working with Jim, the board and wider colleagues at NHS England to ensure we start 25/26 in the strongest possible position to support the wider NHS to deliver consistently high-quality care for patients and value for money for taxpayers.
‘I will also be working closely with Alan Milburn to lead the work to bring together NHSE and DHSC to reduce duplication and streamline functions.’
The DHSC said that work would begin ‘immediately’ to put NHS England’s functions within the department.
In a joint statement in response to the news that NHS England is to be abolished, Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, and Daniel Elkeles, incoming chief executive of NHS Providers, said:
‘This is the end of an era for the NHS and marks the biggest reshaping of its national architecture in a decade.
‘Our members will understand the dynamics at play here, but it comes at an extremely challenging time, with rising demand for care, constrained funding and the need to transform services. History tells us this will cause disruption while the transition is taking place.
‘Much of trust and ICS leaders’ focus will need to go on stabilising the NHS in the short term as thy prioritise patient care, but we also need to ensure we get the right balance between recovery and reform given the opportunity provided by the upcoming 10-year plan.
‘Our members will want to see strong voices maintained for the health service in future policy making and the major decisions that affect leaders and their staff. NHS England was set up to provide arms-length operational independence for the NHS from government and it will be important that the service maintains its ability to inform policy-making and all decisions that affect operational delivery.’
It comes after NHS England said it was considering a ‘fundamental reset’ of the financial regime and accountability to ‘get a grip’ on the situation.
