Plans to cut personnel numbers in half at NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care were unveiled yesterday in the middle of extreme cost-cutting measures.

The 'bonfire of bureaucrats' is targeted at removing duplication across the organisations after their workforces swelled during the pandemic.

Health secretary Wes Streeting is also looking for to tighten his control over the NHS, deliver better worth for taxpayers and free-up money for the frontline.

Three more NHS England board members yesterday announced they will give up at the end of this month, following the current resignations of primary executive Amanda Pritchard and nationwide medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis.

The most recent leaders to join the exodus are Julian Kelly, the chief monetary officer, Emily Lawson, the chief running officer, and Steve Russell, the chief shipment officer and national director for vaccination and screening.

NHS England is the national quango charged with supervising the daily running of the health service and its long-lasting method.

It was established by the Tories in 2013 to give it higher political independence however Mr Streeting is keen to regain tighter control from within his Department.

NHS England stated in a declaration: 'As part of the requirement to make best possible use of taxpayers' cash to support frontline services, the size of NHS England will be radically reduced and could see the size of the centre reduction by around half.'

The much deeper staffing cuts follow a reduction of about 4,000 to 6,000 employees at NHS England over the previous 2 years and about 800 at the Department of Health and Social Care.

Health secretary Wes Streeting is also looking for to tighten his control over the NHS, amidst strategies to cut personnel numbers in half at NHS England and the Department of Health

Former NHS England chief Amanda Pritchard will step down from her position at the end of this month

NHS England chief delivery officer Steve Russell (left) and chief operating officer Emily Lawson (ideal) are among the current managers to sign up with the exodus

Sir Jim Mackey, who will end up being interim chief executive at the start of April, will set up a transition group within NHS England to 'lead the extreme decrease and improving of the centre with the Department of Health and Social Care'.

He said: 'We understand that today's news is upsetting for our staff, and we have significant challenges and modifications ahead.'We aim to have a transition team in place to start on the first April 2025 to help lead us through this duration.'

Ms Pritchard said in a note to staff, seen by the Health Service Journal: 'In the last couple of weeks, I have actually said I think the time is right for extreme reform of the size and functions of the centre to finest support local NHS systems and companies to provide for clients and drive the government's reform priorities.'

She said Mr Streeting had actually asked Sir Jim and Penny Dash, the inbound NHS England chair, to 'lead this work, delivering substantial changes in our relationship with DHSC to remove duplication'.

Mr Streeting stated: 'I want to put on record my thanks to Julian, Emily and Steve for their dedication as public servants, and their work in particular assisting guide the NHS through the pandemic.

'I have actually enjoyed working with each of them over the last eight months and I have actually been impressed by their ability and concentrate on delivering enhancement for patients and staff.

'We are entering a period of crucial transformation for our NHS. 'With a stronger relationship between the Department for Health and Social Care and NHS England, we will work together with the speed and seriousness needed to satisfy the scale of the difficulty.'

Since June last year, NHS England used simply under 15,000 full-time equivalent personnel, including long-term, momentary and consultancy. The Department of Health and Social Care had around 9,000, including the UK Health Security Agency. These are both around 30 per cent more than in January 2020.

NHS England chief monetary officer Julian Kelly has likewise added his name to leaders resigning from their positions

Professor Stephen Powis, the NHS nationwide medical director, announced recently he would step down this summertime

UNISON head of health Helga Pile stated: 'Staff will be naturally concerned about this sudden change of direction.

'The number of redundancies being sought at NHS England has trebled in just a matter of weeks.

'Em ployees there have already been through the mill with limitless rounds of reorganisation. What was currently a stressful prospect has actually now ended up being more like a headache.

'Fixing a damaged NHS requires an appropriate strategy, with central bodies resourced and managed effectively so local services are supported.

'Rushing through cuts brings a threat of developing a further, more complicated mess and could eventually hold the NHS back. That would pull down the very people who need it most, the clients.'

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: 'These changes are taking place at a scale and rate not prepared for to begin with, but provided the huge cost savings that the NHS needs to make this year it makes sense to minimize areas of duplication at a nationwide level and for the NHS to be led by a leaner centre.

'NHS England has actually currently delivered significant cost savings and helped to provide improvements in efficiency, however national bodies and regional NHS leaders know that more is required this year.

'These changes represent the biggest reshaping of the NHS's national architecture in more than a years. It is very important that regional NHS organisations and other bodies are involved in this transformation as the immediate next actions become clearer, so that an optimal operating design can be created.

'This need to have to do with doing things differently for the benefit of local neighborhoods as both patients and taxpayers, in addition to for personnel ahead of annual survey results on Thursday that are yet once again expected to reveal the extreme difficulties they deal with.'

Wes Streeting