Thousands of NHS staff will be made redundant as the government presses ahead with plans to abolish NHS England, The Independent has been told.
In a briefing to staff on Tuesday, NHS England confirmed voluntary redundancies planned for the organisation, as well as local NHS integrated care boards, will go ahead next year.
In a slide, seen by The Independent, NHS England said there would be a “50 per cent reduction”. It said there is a push for voluntary redundancies and that the roles will be cut from mid-March 2026.
Earlier this year, the government announced the abolition of NHS England, with plans to bring the organisation under the control of the Department for Health and Social Care.
NHS England employs more than 15,000 staff and was set up in 2013 by then-Conservative health secretary Andrew Lansley to give the NHS greater autonomy.
When announcing plans to abolish, the prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said an “arms-length” body should not make decisions about the more than £150bn annual NHS England budget, as he promised the move would allow the government to deliver better care.
NHS England staff, however, have faced limbo, with no previous confirmation from the department that the redundancies would be funded by the Treasury.
It is not clear how much the NHS will receive, over and above its current budget, from the government for the redundancies to go ahead, if anything.
Staff were told they could apply for voluntary redundancy between 1 to 14 December. National approval for redundancies will be given on 18 January.
Around 3,000 staff have expressed an interest in redundancy, workers were told, according to an NHS source on the call.
The announcement comes ahead of the much-awaited Autumn budget this month.
The Independent has approached NHS England the Department for Health and Social Care for comment.
