Wes Streeting provides update on NHS England abolition

Health secretary Wes Streeting confirmed that the government has started detailed operational and legislative planning for the abolition of NHS England.

Streeting was responding to a question from Gregory Stafford, the Conservative MP for Farnham and Bordon, who asked the health secretary what progress had been made on the abolition of NHS England during a debate in the House of Commons on Tuesday (6).

“As the Prime Minister and I announced, NHS England will be brought back into the Department to put an end to the duplication, waste and inefficiency resulting from two organisations doing the same job,” he said.

“That is the final nail in the coffin of the disastrous 2012 reorganisation, which led to the longest waiting times, lowest patient satisfaction and most expensive NHS reorganisation in history.”

“Since the announcement, we have set up a joint board, assessed resources and responsibilities across existing organisations, developed proposals about the role, functions and structure of the new centre, and started detailed operational and legislative planning.”

However, Stafford raised concerns about delays in the merger process.

“The Secretary of State claims to support change, yet delays to NHS reorganisation, including to the promised abolition of NHS England, suggest otherwise.”

“Is it not the truth, as he outlined in his Guardian article, that he is bogging the system down in a slow, top-heavy restructuring, while resorting to tax rises, instead of delivering the decentralised, locally delivered, value-for-money healthcare that our constituents deserve?”

Streeting hit back, saying: “A lot of words and not a lot of sense.”

“We are reforming the NHS and, as a result of these changes, redirecting hundreds of millions of pounds to the frontline.”