The government announces that over £1 billion a year will be freed from NHS bureaucracy through reform, redirecting funds into patient care and frontline services
The government has unveiled sweeping reforms for the National Health Service (NHS), promising to redirect billions of pounds previously tied up in administration back into patient care.
With plans to eliminate unnecessary duplication, reduce bureaucracy, and empower local health leaders, the move aims to enhance frontline services while maintaining record funding for the health service. The changes mark a significant shift in how the NHS operates, with more resources allocated to patient care and less to administrative overhead.
Multi-billion pound investment into the NHS
Wes Streeting, Health Secretary, has announced that patients will experience better care following a multi-billion-pound investment in the NHS to end duplication and reduce bureaucracy.
These new reforms will give local leaders and systems more power and autonomy, cutting out unnecessary red tape to enable them to deliver better health services with greater freedom.
Every £1 billion saved in bureaucracy costs is enough to fund an extra 116,000 hip and knee operations.
Wes Streeting speaks at the NHS Providers Conference
Today’s announcement comes ahead of next week’s Budget, which will focus on reducing waitlists, cutting national debt, and the cost of living.
Addressing the NHS Providers Conference in Manchester, Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: “The government is protecting investment in the NHS at the Budget, worth an extra £29 billion to the health service. I want to reassure taxpayers that every penny they are being asked to pay will be spent wisely.
We have already cut waiting lists for the first year in 15 years, recruited 2,500 more GPs, and cut ambulance waits for patients with conditions like heart attacks and strokes. Our investment in offering more services in the evenings and on weekends, equipping staff with modern technology, and enhancing staff retention is yielding positive results. At the same time, cuts to wasteful spending on items such as recruitment agencies resulted in a 2.4% increase in productivity in the most recent figures – we are getting better value for our money.
We’re now pushing down on the accelerator and slashing unnecessary bureaucracy to reinvest the savings in frontline care. It won’t happen overnight, but with our investment and modernisation, we will rebuild our NHS so it is there for you when you need it once again.”
Wes Streeting will give NHS leaders the go-ahead for a 50% cut to headcounts in Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), organisations introduced in 2022 which plan health services for specific regions. ICBs have previously had no defined role; however, new reforms mean that these organisations will have a more focused role as strategic commissioners.
New reforms for a better NHS
The Chancellor has protected funding for the NHS, including securing a record £29 billion boost to get it back on its feet and fit for the future, with up to £10 billion allocated towards technology and digital transformation, thousands more GPs to be trained, and funding allocated to deliver an additional 700,000 urgent NHS dentist appointments a year.
The government’s extra investment has led to a reduction of 200,000 on waiting lists, an improvement in patient satisfaction with GPs for the first time in a decade, and an increase in productivity at an unprecedented rate.
Sir Jim Mackey, NHS England CEO, said: “This is 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.
It will free up resources to invest in frontline services and reduce unnecessary bureaucracy that slows us down and gets in the way of improving care.
The NHS will continue to focus on the practical challenges ahead. We are pulling out all the stops to support the service through winter, making progress on elective and urgent and emergency care targets.”
