NHS England shake-up ‘could lead to senior redundancies’

NHS England has announced plans to cut one-quarter of the organisation's most senior clinical and managerial posts, which is expected to lead to high-profile redundancies.

At least 75 of the body's 300 most top-level nursing posts could be eliminated, including many nursing directors from NHS England's 24 area teams outside London, according to the Health Service Journal.

The purpose of this move will be to streamline workforces and adopt the model used in London, where the three area teams do not all have their own nursing directors. The number of area teams outside London also could be halved.

In an email to staff, NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens explained that these changes are driven by a desire to focus on the organisation's core functions, while adjusting to a lack of government funding.

He said: "In making these changes we will thereby minimise reductions required from less senior posts at other levels in our organisation."

NHS England was established in April 2013 to take control of service provision within the country and ultimately improve outcomes for patients.