NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard has resigned over Labour’s plan to take control of the health service.
Ms Pritchard, 48, will step down at the end of March after three years in post since she was appointed its first female chief in August 2021.
She quit after being told she would lose her powers under Health Secretary Wes Streeting’s plan to strip control away from NHS England.
He will hand more decision-making powers to local health boards and the Department of Health in Whitehall.
There is no plan to replace Ms Pritchard, who was last year paid around £270,000, and a “transition CEO” will be put in place for a “radical reshape” of NHS management.
A source said: “Wes has been clear since the start that he wants much more devolution of power to the frontline.
“Amanda announced thousands of job cuts at NHS England last year so this is in line with that.
“There will be a different setup in future.”
[quote credit=”Amanda Pritchard” credit-meta=”CEO of NHS England”]It has been an enormous privilege to lead the NHS in England through the most difficult period in its history[/quote]NHS England, the London HQ that oversees 42 local health boards, has laid off around 9,000 office staff in the past three years – more than a third.
The NHS has had some of its hardest years on record since Ms Pritchard started, with patient satisfaction hitting record lows, waiting lists increasing from 5.7million to 7.5m and nurses, doctors and ambulance crews all going on strike.
Announcing job cuts in a speech in November, Ms Pritchard hinted that “the functions and form of NHS England may reduce”.
A second source said on Tuesday: “Amanda likes to be independent and the Government wants the Department of Health and NHS England to work more closely.
“She did not feel she was the right person for that job.”
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”LIVE: Starmer vows to unleash biggest overhaul of NHS in 70 years” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6361866931112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]Ms Pritchard said: “It has been an enormous privilege to lead the NHS in England through the most difficult period in its history.
“I am immensely proud of the NHS response to Covid-19 and how we have delivered steady recovery from the impacts of the pandemic.
“While it has been a hugely difficult decision for me to stand down, I believe now is the right time.”
Ms Pritchard, former CEO of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Trust in London, has been under fire this year after MPs slammed health officials for being “out of ideas”.
Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee said bureaucrats in the NHS and health department had “some of the worst complacency” they had seen.
The Health and Social Care Committee later accused her of giving “lengthy and diffuse answers” about improvement efforts in a “frustrating and disappointing” meeting.
NHS and government ‘need a new relationship’
Wes Streeting insisted he did not force Ms Pritchard to go.
He said: “I’ve loved working with Amanda.
“She has given me wise counsel, she has led the NHS from the front over more than half a decade now, including leading the country out of the worst health emergency in modern times.
“She leaves with my heartfelt thanks and the Prime Minister’s thanks for the service that she’s given.
“The start of the next financial year and the publication of the 10 Year Plan for Health will be pivotal moments on the road to reform.
“We will require a new relationship between the Department for Health and Social Care and NHS England.”
He called the post “one of the toughest jobs in public service”.
Sir James Mackey, chief executive of Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust, will take over as transition CEO in April.
[boxout headline=”NHS crisis: What do the stats show?” intro=”NHS England published its latest monthly performance data for hospitals in February.”]It showed:
- An estimated 7.46 million treatments were waiting to be carried out at the end of December, down from 7.48 million in November. This is the lowest figure since April 2023. The list hit a record high in September 2023, with 7.77 million treatments.
- Some 2,059 patients had been waiting more than 18 months to start routine treatment at the end of December.
- A total of 200,375 people had been waiting more than 52 weeks to begin treatment at the end of December – the lowest number since November 2020.
- Some 2.7% of people on the waiting list for NHS hospital treatment in December had been waiting more than 52 weeks – the Government have set a target for this to be less than 1% by March 2026.
- A record 61,529 people had to wait more than 12 hours in A&E departments in January from a decision to admit to actually being admitted, up from 54,207 in December.
- A total of 78.1% of patients urgently referred for suspected cancer were diagnosed or had cancer ruled out within 28 days in December 2024 (within the NHS target of 75%).