Effects of cutting NHS manager jobs 'were not assessed'

Ministers have admitted they did not assess the impact of axing thousands of NHS managers before pushing ahead, sparking criticism that the cull is "reckless" and "a huge risk".

- Denis Campbell

The NHS's 42 regional integrated care boards (ICBs) in England have been told to slash their running costs by 50% by the end of the year in a move that will lead to around 12,500 job losses. It is a central part of government plans to radically overhaul the health service, which include abolishing NHS England, and use the savings from a massive cut in management posts to improve its finances and fund frontline care.

However, the government did not assess the impact of halving ICBs' running costs before approving the move, Karin Smyth, the minister for NHS reform, said.

Smyth acknowledged the Department of Health and Social Care's (DHSC) failure to do so in a written parliamentary answer to Helen Morgan, the health spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats.

NHS bosses have described the brutal scrapping of so many managers as "vandalism" and have warned it will strip back ICBs so they will not be able to properly discharge their duties to commission key services and oversee the quality of NHS care.