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Health Secretary Wes Streeting has said there is a “risk of disruption” in the NHS as he attempts to overhaul the service and reduce waste, but has promised long-term improvements.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, Streeting announced NHS England, a public administrative body, would be scrapped to save money and give ministers more control of health services.<\/p>\n
The Labour government expects the move will take two years and save hundreds of millions of pounds that can be spent on frontline NHS services.<\/p>\n
Appearing on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, Streeting defended the reforms but admitted there would be challenges.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
When asked about the impact on patient care, he said: “Of course there are always up-front costs. And yes there is always a risk of disruption.”<\/p>\n
Streeting said former health secretaries had “not been prepared to take on those sorts of challenges” and argued NHS England “was set up to shield politicians like me from responsibility”.<\/p>\n
He said: “I’ve seen waste, inefficiency and duplication. So of course we should go after that.”<\/p>\n
When asked for a second time if patient care would be disrupted by the government’s reorganisation of the NHS, Streeting promised to deliver improvements and said waiting lists for treatment had already been falling.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The government said its main reasons for abolishing NHS England were to “cut bureaucracy” and reform how health services operate.<\/p>\n
It dubbed NHS England “the world’s largest quango” – the term used to describe publicly funded organisations at arm’s length from the government.<\/p>\n
Currently, NHS England oversees the health service, working with government to agree funding and priorities, as well as monitoring the performance of local NHS services.<\/p>\n
Under the changes, the organisation will be brought into the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), which is headed by Streeting.<\/p>\n
The reforms will not impact anyone’s access to the NHS, with the health service remaining free at the point of use.<\/p>\n
The government said it expected around half of the jobs at NHS England and DHSC to go – around 9,000 administrative roles.<\/p>\n
The chairman of NHS England, Richard Meddings, said he did not disagree with the abolishing of the organisation, in his first interview<\/a> since the changes were announced.<\/p>\n But speaking to the BBC, he said the buck will now stop with ministers, saying: “There will no longer be a separate vehicle that can be pointed [at] to say that’s what got it wrong.”<\/p>\n