Over 200 NHS organisations are set to be scrapped under the 10-year plan, including Integrated Care Partnerships, Healthwatch England and Health Services Safety Investigations Body.
The Government will also close Commissioning Support Units, set up as part of the 2012 Lansley reforms, and the National Guardian’s Office, abolishing 201 NHS organisations, bodies and entities altogether.
As announced earlier this year, NHS England will also be abolished and brought back into the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) over the next two years in order to ‘put an end to the duplication resulting from two organisations doing the same job’.
The 10-year plan, which is expected in the next few days, will outline how there are more than 150 bodies currently assessing quality in health and care settings and providing guidelines, and that number ‘has been allowed to increase’ over the past ten years.
But the Government said that these are not joined up and are having the opposite effect of what was intended, issuing guidance in an uncoordinated way.
Health secretary Wes Streeting said: ‘Over the past decade and a half, an overly complex system of healthcare regulation and oversight has been left to spiral out of control.
‘Creating new quangos can make for a good announcement, but rarely solves the problem. Our 10 Year Health Plan will tear through this tangled web of bureaucracy, cut wasteful spending and reinvest the savings in frontline care.
‘So many of the problems in the NHS come down to a failure to listen to patients. The changes we are making will hold a megaphone up to patients’ lips, and force the service to listen to their feedback.
‘The NHS needs more doers and fewer checkers. Our reforms will cut unnecessary bureaucracy, and liberate staff to deliver safe, timely care for patients.’
Responding to the announcement, NHS Confederation chief executive Matthew Taylor warned the Government not to forget ‘the failings in care’ that led to these bodies being set up in the first place.
He said: ‘The Government has already announced plans to reduce costs from within the NHS, so it is understandable that some consolidation may be needed around the way national health policy is developed too.
‘Any opportunity to reduce duplication should be welcomed particularly where any money saved can be invested back into frontline care.
‘However, NHS leaders would encourage the government to not forget the failings in care that led to these bodies being set up in the first place and tread carefully so as to ensure their vital missions continue in future. Staff and patients will still need safe spaces where they can speak up.’
Louise Ansari, chief executive at Healthwatch England, said: ‘This is clearly a sad day for our staff, volunteers, and everyone associated with Healthwatch who have proudly supported people and communities to speak up about their experiences of health and social care.
‘Over the past twelve years, we’ve helped millions of people raise concerns, access vital advice, and influence real change in the services they rely on.
‘By championing the voices of local communities, we’ve helped drive countless improvements across the NHS and social care – successes I understand the Government recognises.
‘Our focus now is on ensuring a smooth transition of our functions to the NHS and Government, so that the voices of patients and the public continue to be heard.’
Other details of the 10-year plan have already been unveiled, including a partnership between the Government and food retailers to tackle obesity, plans to increase patient access to information, review GP funding allocations as a way to tackle health inequalities, and enable patients to access clinical trials through the app.
A version of this story was first published on our sister title Pulse.
