NEW YORK — UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday announced that NHS England would be abolished in a move to reduce government bureaucracy and improve patient care.
"I'm bringing management of the NHS back into democratic control by abolishing the arm's-length body NHS England," Starmer said in a speech. "That will put the NHS back at the heart of government where it belongs."
The move, he said, would allow more money to go to the healthcare providers, such as doctors and nurses, improve services, and cut wait lists for services. The strategy is also meant to avoid duplication of services provided by the UK Department of Health and Social Care.
Healthcare services will return to being under the direct control of the UK health department. NHS England, which was established in 2013, has managed and directed such services in the country and directed £134 billion ($173 billion) of funding to local NHS systems, the Financial Times reported. It has a staff of more than 15,000 people.
UK Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting noted in a statement to Parliament that staffing for NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care has more than doubled since 2010. "Today, the NHS delivers worse care for patients but is more expensive than ever before," he said. "The budget for NHS England staff and admin alone has soared to £2 billion. Taxpayers are paying more but getting less."
Thursday's announcement follows the resignations this week of several board members of NHS England in anticipation of cuts to the agency, including NHS Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard and Chief Medical Director Stephen Powis. In an announcement about the resignations on Monday, NHS England alluded to major cuts at the agency, saying, "As part of the need to make best possible use of taxpayers' money to support frontline services, the size of NHS England will be radically reduced and could see the size of the centre decrease by around half."
In a joint statement on Thursday, NHS Confederation Chief Executive Matthew Taylor and NHS Providers Chief Executive Daniel Elkeles said the shelving of the NHS comes as the demand for healthcare is on the rise while funding is constrained, and services need to be transformed.
"Our members understand the dynamics at play here, but it comes at an extremely challenging time," they said. "History tells us this will cause disruption while the transition will take place."
NHS Confederation is a membership body for organizations that commission and provide NHS services. NHS Providers is a membership organization for NHS trusts in England.
Meanwhile, healthcare union Unite blasted the decision, saying it was made without input from unions. "Taking an axe to these jobs is an ill thought-out strategy that could end up meaning frontline healthcare staff struggle to do their jobs effectively if they aren't paid on time, don't have basic medical supplies, or are forced to do additional administrative work rather than treat patients," Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham said in a statement.