Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has announced that NHS England will be abolished to 'cut bureaucracy' and bring management of the health service 'back into democratic control'.
The non-departmental public body will be dismantled so that the NHS can be put back in its rightful place 'at the heart of government, where it belongs', the Labour leader said.
Starmer announced the bold new plans earlier today (13 March) while delivering a speech during a visit to Hull.
He promised that getting rid of NHS England will allow the health service to 'focus on patients', battle less bureaucracy and free up 'more money for nurses'.
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For those who don't know, NHS England is the organisation which leads and manages the NHS in England to 'ensure the provision of high-quality healthcare services'.
The repetition of those two words probably wasn't the best choice for a name, as it's quite likely that loads of Brits will wrongly presume that our publicly-funded healthcare system is going kaput.
But in the words of Starmer, NHS England really was something of an unnecessary 'duplication' of our beloved NHS - and the excess funds freed up from it's demise can now be funnelled into frontline services instead.
According to the UK government website, NHS England works in tandem with NHS organisations to 'deliver better outcomes for our patients and communities and provide value for taxpayers'.
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This includes overseeing the budget, planning, delivery and day-to-day operations of the NHS, as well as directly commissioning general practitioners, dentists, optometrists and some specialist services.
But this description will likely be changed in the coming days, if it doesn't completely vanish altogether, following Downing Street's announcement about ditching NHS England.
And according to Sir Keir, the move could mark a huge turning point for our cash-strapped national health service.
Discussing his motivations, the PM explained: "I can’t in all honesty explain to the British people why they should spend their money on two layers of bureaucracy.
"That money could and should be spent on nurses, doctors, operations, GP appointments. So today, I can announce we’re going to cut bureaucracy, focus government on the priorities of working people, shift money to the frontline.
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"So I’m bringing management of the NHS back into democratic control by abolishing the arms-length body, NHS England."
Starmer said that decisions about billions of pounds of taxpayers money should not be taken by an 'arms-length' body.
He explained one of the biggest motivations for abolishing NHS England was the 'duplication' of services he mentioned.
Detailing just how similar both bodies were, Starmer said: "If you can believe it, we've got a communications team in NHS England, we've got a communications team in the health department of government.
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"We've got a strategy team in NHS England, a strategy team in the government department. We're duplicating things that could be done once.
"If we strip that out, which is what we're doing today, that then allows us to free up that money, to put it where it needs to be, which is the front line."
NHS England will be brought back into the Department of Health and Social Care instead - which is news that was welcomed by health secretary Wes Streeting.
"This is the final nail in the coffin of the disastrous 2012 reorganisation, which led to the longest waiting times, lowest patient satisfaction, and most expensive NHS in history," he said of the plans.
"When money is so tight, we can’t justify such a complex bureaucracy with two organisations doing the same jobs.
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"We need more doers, and fewer checkers, which is why I’m devolving resources and responsibilities to the NHS frontline."
It comes just a month after NHS England boss Amanda Pritchard, who served as Chief Executive since 2021, resigned from her post.
Topics: Keir Starmer, NHS, UK News
Olivia Burke