The government’s decision to abolish NHS England could result in’significant consequences’ for effective training of healthcare professionals in critical areas, such as infection prevention and hospital-acquired illnesses.
Lucy Kenyon is a senior lecturer in occupational health and a national practice teacher. She has warned the decision could have serious ramifications, especially for Health Education England, which was integrated into NHS England only a few months ago.
She said that in an online posting, “This move is aimed at cutting bureaucracy in the NHS and reallocating funds to frontline service. However, it does not address the education and training for the English health workforce.”
Kenyon said that it raised questions about the impact on training-related incidents, adverse patient outcomes and other areas.
She asked, in particular, if there would be any impact on the training of new medical protocols, new surgical techniques, or new equipment, infection control practices, hospital-acquired infections, effective communication skills, emergency protocols, etc.
The integration into NHS England was meant to streamline operations and increase efficiency. The future of HEE functions and responsibilities are unclear with NHS England being abolished. Kenyon writes that there are concerns over potential disruptions in ongoing training programs and initiatives for workforce planning.
She added: “In summary, although the abolition NHS England is intended to cut bureaucracy, it will also improve efficiency. The impact on professional training needs to be clarified as soon as possible and given priority.”
Siva Anandaciva is the director of policy events and partnerships at The King’s Fund. She has said that many people in the healthcare industry were caught off guard by the announcement, which has raised more questions than it has answered.
has written that “the changes must be more than just saving money.” The reported PS175m that will be saved by cutting the national bodies pales when compared to the PS7bn financial deficit NHS Trusts expect next year. While I accept that some duplication exists between parts of DHSC (Department of Health and Social Care) and NHS England I would have to be convinced that the duplication is sufficient to justify halving NHS England’s workforce.
“At some stage, as a nation, we must stop trying to create the ‘perfect health care system’ and instead maximise the benefits of the one that we already have.” As with any good impact assessment of a major change to government, the ministers will need to answer the questions ‘What’s the specific problem?’ and What’s the best way to achieve that goal ?’,”,’ he said.
It’s so time-consuming, and the impact on health policy is so significant, that you would only want to do this once. You’d also want to make sure that the squeeze is worth it. This government is certainly doing something. I have no idea how it will all end. Anandaciva continued, “I’m not certain who will do it. This is more alarming.”
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