The Department of Health and Social Care has announced details of a unified executive team that will oversee the reintegration of NHS England into the main ministry.
Prime minister Keir Starmer and health secretary Wes Streeting set out plans to scrap NHSE back in March.
At the time the PM said he could see no justification for “two layers of bureaucracy” at DHSC and NHSE – or any reason why decisions about £200bn of health spending should be taken by the arm’s-length body, rather than the department.
The announcement set an expectation that the merger of DHSC and NHSE would be complete within two years.
July’s 10-year Health Plan for England confirmed the aspiration for a 50% cut in “central headcount” to result from the merger. As of March, DHSC had around 3,500 staff in the core department, while NHSE had some 15,000.
In an update on the plans to scrap NHSE, DHSC has said a “single joint executive team” is being established “as part of the transition to one organisation”.
It will go live on 3 November and include DHSC perm sec Samantha Jones, second perm sec and chief operating officer Tom Riordan, NHS England chief executive officer Sir Jim Mackey, and chief medical officer for England Prof Sir Chris Whitty.
Also part of the top team are director general for system development Matthew Style; chief nursing officer for England Duncan Barton; DG for global, public health and emergencies Catherine Frances; chief scientific adviser and DG for science and research Prof Lucy Chappell; interim DG for adult social care Sally Warren; interim finance DG Elizabeth O’Mahony; interim performance and delivery DG – and interim NHS England deputy chief exec – David Probert; interim people DG Jo Lenaghan; and interim medical directors Dr Claire Fuller and Prof Meghana Pandit.
Additionally, the single joint executive team will include three DG roles for which recruitment is under way, but which do not currently have identified interim post-holders. They are technology and data; strategy and healthcare policy; and commercial and growth.