NHS Redundancy Costs to Be Met Within Existing Budget, says DHSC
London – The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has confirmed that £1 billion in redundancy payouts resulting from the planned reduction of 18,000 administrative posts across care boards will be funded from within the NHS’s existing budget settlement, rejecting a plea for an additional £1bn. The move is part of a wider effort to “strip away endless red tape and bureaucracy” and is projected to deliver £1 billion in annual savings by 2029.
The DHSC stated that “funding arrangements have been agreed with HM Treasury.” Despite the significant workforce reduction, the department added that NHS services would be protected, asserting, “We will not be cutting any investment to the NHS, frontline or backroom.”
NHS England’s chief executive,Jim Mackey,hailed the decision as “good news for NHS staff and patients,allowing our organisations to move forward and provide greater certainty about the future for all our staff and leaders.”
However, the announcement has drawn criticism from Managers in Partnership, a union representing NHS bosses. Jon Restell of the union stated, ”Today’s redundancy funding announcement ends months of inaction by the government which have caused avoidable distress to our members as working people and placed care board leaders in an intolerable position.” Restell also expressed concern over the future of key care board functions, such as continuing healthcare, and warned that the loss of managers with digital and planning expertise would “undermine the government’s own 10-year health plan.”
