Nhs Integrated Care Boards Halt Job Cuts In Row Over £1bn Cost

Labour’s extremist reorganisation of nan NHS has descended into chaos, a national has said, arsenic a immense programme of occupation cuts has been halted amid a statement complete who will ft nan £1bn bill.

The NHS’s 42 integrated attraction boards (ICBs) successful England were owed to dress up to 12,500 of their 25,000 unit redundant by nan extremity of nan twelvemonth arsenic a consequence of wellness work cost-cutting.

But increasing numbers of ICBs person had to region their plans to trim their workforce because they cannot spend to screen nan costs involved, which are arsenic precocious arsenic £42m each.

Jon Restell, nan main executive of Managers successful Partnership, which represents galore ICB staff, said: “The redundancy measure will beryllium eye-watering and good beyond nan intends of ICBs, moreover earlier their budgets are slashed by up to half. The authorities will person to prime up nan tab.

“Our members are progressively distressed and hopeless for answers. ICBs are keeping unit informed arsenic champion they tin but location isn’t overmuch they tin opportunity amidst nan chaos.”

NHS England is successful talks pinch nan Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) complete a plea from ICB leaders for an emergency rate injection from nan Treasury to screen severance payments. Planned occupation cuts person been postponed until, it is hoped, nan discussions extremity nan uncertainty.

Health unions opportunity ICB unit person been near anxious, confused and successful limbo because they do not cognize really agelong they will person a occupation for, pinch immoderate truthful stressed that they are having to return clip disconnected sick.

NHS England told nan 42 ICBs successful March to trim their moving costs by 50% arsenic portion of a thrust to “reset” its finances and Wes Streeting’s restructuring of nan wellness service. ICBs – location NHS bodies – should person finalised which unit they were losing by nan extremity of December.

But galore ICBs person called disconnected their redundancy programmes because they cannot meet nan costs progressive without overspending this year’s budgets, which they person been instructed to instrumentality to and which were group earlier layoffs were planned. They person warned that they cannot commencement getting free of what is expected to beryllium betwixt 300 and 400 unit each until they person nan money to do so.

For example, North East and North Cumbria ICB has said its scheme to consult connected layoffs “has not been capable to get nether measurement owed to nan projected costs of imaginable redundancy not being capable to [be] met successful 2025-26”.

Its main executive, Sam Allen, explained successful a insubstantial to her board: “Commencing nan consultation without clarity from NHS England connected nan backing of nan redundancy costs associated pinch implementing this nationally mandated request would adhd accrued consequence to nan transportation successful nan integrated attraction strategy [financial] plan.”

An array of different ICBs person besides paused their consultation processes, including those covering south-west London, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and Humber and North Yorkshire, because they do not cognize if they tin underwrite nan estimated £1bn redundancy costs.

ICBs successful Lincolnshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire and Leicestershire expect to proceed shedding unit during 2026-27, moreover though each ICBs’ budgets for adjacent twelvemonth – which are already group – presume that workforces will already person been almost halved by then.

Dr Kathy McLean, nan chair of nan Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB, precocious warned ministers that months of work by ICBs to hole for being restructured into a overmuch smaller number – 15 “clusters” and 11 ICBs – had “come to a standstill” complete nan costs involved.

Helga Pile, nan national Unison’s caput of health, said: “The standoff betwixt nan Treasury and NHS England complete who’ll salary for redundancies conscionable adds to workers’ consciousness of interest and anxiety. The handling of nan business has been a shambles. Meanwhile unit are near successful limbo, not knowing if they’ll person jobs adjacent year.”

Tensions complete nan layoffs person been exacerbated by claims by ICB leaders that NHS England initially indicated it would prime up nan tab. NHS England’s main executive, Jim Mackey, has denied that. He told MPs connected nan Commons wellness and societal attraction committee connected 9 September that “we ne'er said location was a cardinal cookware of money” ICBs could dip into.

However, Glen Burley, NHS England’s financial reset director, indicated astatine nan aforesaid proceeding that fixed nan disorder astir nan occupation losses and slow advancement truthful far, “we will person to beryllium flexible” connected nan edict to ICBs to halve their moving costs by nan extremity of 2025.

DHSC has been approached for comment. An NHS England spokesperson said: “ICBs person worked level retired to place savings that tin beryllium reinvested backmost into diligent care, and a number of them person well-developed plans successful spot for restructuring which we are supporting them with.”