NHS staff 'still in the dark' over jobs future

Integrated care boards commission NHS services including contracts with hospitals GP practices and dentists

Hundreds of NHS workers in the East Midlands are facing uncertainty over their jobs because of a planned reorganisation.

The government announced in March it wanted Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), which have the equivalent of nearly 2,000 full-time posts in the region, to halve their running costs.

It wants millions of pounds of savings to be achieved by December.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said the changes were part of a transformation plan to "tackle inefficiencies and drive up productivity in the NHS".

The five ICBs for the East Midlands co-ordinate more than £25bn of health and social care spending.

They are among the 42 ICBs across England facing cuts and their funding covers hospital services, GP contracts and NHS dentistry.

'Real blow'

Managers in Partnership, a union that represents managers in the NHS, said care boards looking to make cuts have until the end of May to outline how they propose to reduce spending.

The union's chief executive Jon Restell said he expected the impact on jobs to emerge over the summer.

He said: "We've urged [the government] to consider not just the scale of the cuts but the timescale - we need a bit more time for ICBs to think about how they do this in a way that is safe and fair.

"People knew there was some tough decisions ahead but they had some hope the new government was on the right lines.

"It feels like a real blow in confidence to the future of the service."

The announcement was made as part of a package of reforms in March which involved plans to scrap NHS England.

The prime minister announced NHS England would be abolished in a bid to cut bureaucracy and duplication in March

It is the organisation's running costs that are under intense scrutiny and earmarked for about 50% cuts, with so-called "programme costs" also being examined for potential savings.

Examples of the programmes include support to care homes and infection control advice services to GP practices, dentists and pharmacists

The Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Rutland, Northamptonshire and Lincolnshire ICBs have combined running costs of more than £73m.

A spokesperson for the East Midlands ICBs said it would support staff "as much as possible" throughout the process.

They added: "We are supporting our incredibly hardworking and valuable staff as much as possible during this time of uncertainty, so that they can continue to deliver the high-quality services our local communities expect and deserve."

Figures obtained by the BBC have revealed there are the equivalent of 573 full-time jobs in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, 451 in Derby and Derbyshire and 286 employed in the ICB serving Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

'Under pressure'

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said the government aims to "cut bureaucracy to invest even further in the front line" to "support hard-working staff and deliver a better service for patients and taxpayers' money".

The NHS Confederation, which represents employers in the health service, said it was braced for significant job losses and had lobbied for a voluntary redundancy scheme to be put in place.

Sarah Walter, director of the Integrated Care System Network for the confederation, added: "Moving forward at this kind of pace is a challenge. The announcement was made in March, the cost reduction plans are to be delivered by the end of May, and savings by the end of this year – that's a really tall order for leaders across the NHS.

"We will want to ensure that whilst delivering those cuts and savings we still are also able to ensure we've got enough attention on NHS services and the improvements we want to make for patients."