NHS England Update

Lord Bishop of London Excerpts

Wednesday 19th March 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

The noble Lord is right to talk about NHS England in all its functions. Bringing it together with the department will not diminish those functions but will allow them to be delivered rather more effectively than they are currently. At the head of the transformation team is Sir James Mackey, the new chief executive of NHS England, working with Dr Penny Dash as chair. Both individuals are well respected across the sector for their outstanding track records, not least on turning round NHS organisations, in Jim’s case, but also on balancing the books, driving up productivity and driving down waiting times—exactly what is needed. But I agree totally with the noble Lord, and we are going to ensure that the necessary functions are continued; it is the way they are delivered that we are changing.

[The Lord Bishop of London]

My Lords, I declare my interest as indicated by the noble Baroness, in that I am a former government Chief Nursing Officer. Following on from the noble Lord’s point, this is a very significant change not just to the NHS but to its workforce. We know from looking back that when there is a reorganisation of the NHS, attention and funds are distracted away from the front line and patient care. The announcement came on the same day as the publication of the NHS staff survey results, which highlighted that only 31% felt that there were enough staff to enable them to do their job, and that 45% felt unwell due to work-related stress. What action will the Government take to make sure that there is not a management distraction, through this reorganisation, away from the front line and patient care in particular? How will staff be supported during this transition, not least those who, I suspect, fear that their jobs are now under threat?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I recognise what the right reverend Prelate is saying. I myself have experienced change in large organisations, and change is never easy. We are talking about job losses; we cannot shy away from that. But it is appropriate that I re-emphasise the reassurance of our respect for and thanks to all those talented and hard-working staff in both the department and NHSE. We will, as I said, work with trade unions on this change in order to be fair and transparent and to deal with it properly. Of course it is uncomfortable, and people naturally find it difficult.

It is also important to look at the benefits. Currently, we have rather too much micromanagement, which frustrates progress and staff. Reducing that is one of the liberations that this will provide, so we can innovate and get on with caring for patients.

On maintaining people’s morale, this is a big challenge for us because morale has not been good at all, so we will pay particular attention to this as we publish the workforce plan later in the summer. This work continues. Senior managers and transformation team are very alive to the points the right reverend Prelate has made, and they will continue in that regard.