In a speech today, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that NHS England is to be abolished, with the National Health Service to be brought back under ‘democratic’ control.
This speech came as the Prime Minister looked to reshape the public sector, and how it delivers for the people of the United Kingdom.
The decision to abolish the arms-length body responsible for managing the NHS comes following recent news of major leadership changes within the organisation, including the departure of Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard. According to the Prime Minister, this decision will bring the NHS ‘back to the heart of government, where it belongs’ in order to improve services delivery for patients, reduced bureaucracy, and more funding.
Announcing the decision, Starmer said:
“I’m bringing management of the NHS back into democratic control, by abolishing the arms-length body NHS England.
“That will put the NHS back at the heart of government, where it belongs, freeing it to focus on patients, less bureaucracy, with more money for nurses.
“An NHS refocused on cutting waiting times at your hospital.”
In a joint statement, Matthew Taylor, NHS Confederation Chief Executive, and a Daniel Elkeles, Incoming Chief Executive of NHS Providers, commented:
“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 they 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 ten-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.
“The NHS Confederation and NHS Providers and our diverse memberships will work with the government to help this transition go smoothly and to ensure the ten-year plan helps the government to meet its ambitions. Local NHS organisations and other bodies will need to be involved in this transformation as the immediate next steps become clearer, so that an optimum operating model can be created.”
Following the announcement, Health Secretary Wes Streeting stated that he would be making a statement to Parliament. You can follow updates on this page as the story unfolds.
Image credit: iStock
Video credit: 10 Downing Street
