I share constituents’ concerns at the Labour Government’s proposals to restructure the NHS at a local and national level in England because, as the Public Accounts Committee noted in May, it is becoming increasingly clear the Government had no plan or costings for abolishing NHS England or reducing headcount across the NHS.
As many constituents will know, there is also considerable uncertainty about how redundancy payments for NHS staff will be funded, which I am aware is affecting staff morale, delaying decisions on key services and risks placing further pressure on local budgets.
My colleagues in the Shadow Health team will be strongly challenging the Government to provide clarity on this issue over the coming weeks but I am very clear redundancies should not be funded from budgets that were supposed to be allocated to frontline patient care.
As a Conservative, I do believe in delivering a leaner and more efficient state. By using resources more effectively, reducing waste and preventing duplication, the NHS will be in a better position to focus on patient care. There are a lot of opportunities to make changes and savings, to do things differently and to refocus on core deliveries and competencies.
As such, I am generally supportive of measures to streamline senior management within the NHS, and do not oppose the principle of the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care taking direct control of the powers currently under NHS England.
The Health and Social Care Act 2022, proposed under the last Government, increased the Secretary of State’s powers over various aspects of the NHS’s operation, including local service reconfigurations. However, I am concerned the current Government’s decision to restructure the NHS will distract from the mission of reducing waiting times, with resources diverted away from frontline care.
There is also uncertainty about what will happen to existing programmes to promote best practice for managing different conditions.
Please be assured that I will be holding the Government to account for minimising the disruption to patients from this major reorganisation of the NHS in England. It is highly disappointing that NHS and Care Volunteer Responders programme ended on 31 May, with the changes to NHS England partly identified as a cause of this announcement.
The Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, has stated that he aims to further reduce the number of NHS bodies and agencies. I am supportive of this approach in principle but will carefully consider any proposals put forward by the Government to ensure patient care is not adversely affected as a result.
