Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of NHS England, has hinted at a change to the leadership of the NHS Transformation Directorate, as plans to cut staff are announced.
NHS 2025/2026 priorities and operational planning guidance, published on 26 January 2025, said that NHSE “will again become a smaller organisation this year, further reducing our headcount and reprioritising spend to allocate more funding to systems.”
Speaking at the Health and Social Care Select Committee on 29 January 2025, Gregory Stafford, Conservative MP for Farnham and Bordon, questioned why Vin Diwakar’s role as director of transformation is an interim post.
“Why is he not the substantive director or someone in his place? Does that not give a message to the sector, that actually transformation isn’t as important as you suggest it is?” Stafford asked.
Pritchard responded: “I think we’re incredibly lucky to have Dr Vin Diwakar as our interim lead for transformation, because he, for those of you who don’t know him, is a paediatrician and also a real expert in this area, so brings that clinical focus along with a deep understanding of what it takes to deliver change”.
However she added: “The opportunity clearly now, particularly with the new government in place, is to make sure that between us and them we’re confident that we’ve got the right leadership arrangements in place across NHS England and the department so that we’re aligning with the vision from the 10 year plan” and to work “as one team at the centre of the NHS and making sure we have the right complimentary skills across the piece.”
Stafford asked Pritchard if this meant there would be another reorganisation of NHSE.
She replied that NHSE’s previous “substantial reorganisation” had already reduced the head count of NHSE by 35%.
“We are very clear that what we now need to do is not another big top down set of changes”, she said, but added that there would be a process of looking at how to “bear down on the centre so that we are releasing funds out to the NHS and working as effectively as we can.”
Digital Health News understands that NHSE has briefed staff that it plans to cut around 15% of its headcount – equating to around 2,000 staff.
A source said that NHSE faced a £150 million budget reduction in 2025/2026 alongside a recruitment freeze, “with many reductions coming from holding existing vacancies”.
Diwakar, who will deliver a keynote at Rewired 2025, took the role of interim director of transformation following the departure of Dr Tim Ferris in September 2023.
John Quinn, chief information officer at NHSE, announced in January 2025 that he will leave the role at the end of March, after almost two years in post.
Digital Health News contacted NHSE for comment. but had not received a response at the time of publication.
