400 people working non-clinical NHS roles could be made redundant

NHS England has told every Integrated Care Board – or ICB – to slash its running costs by half, with just two months to come up with a plan.

Transcript

00:00400 people working in non-clinical NHS roles across Gloucestershire, Bristol and Somerset

00:07are now facing redundancy as part of a major cost-cutting plan. NHS England has told every

00:14Integrated Care Board or ICB to slash its running costs by half, with just two months to come up

00:21with a plan. These boards were created in 2022 to replace clinical commissioning groups.

00:28They're not hospitals or frontline staff but they are responsible for planning and paying for NHS

00:35services across entire regions. The ICB covering Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire

00:43manages over £3 billion in NHS spending. That budget isn't being cut but its own operating costs,

00:51about £33 million a year are and that means that the people who keep the system running behind the

00:59scenes are now at risk. Chief Executive Shave Devlin says that cutting too fast or too deep could

01:07actually cause millions more in damage to frontline care but with NHS England demanding of 50% cuts,

01:15he's warning that up to 400 out of 800 staff across his board and Gloucestershire could lose their jobs.

01:25That's on top of a 30% cut already made last year and, as if it weren't enough, the government is also

01:32changing the role of ICBs, asking them to become what's called strategic commissioners, responsible

01:39for planning long-term services that meet the changing needs of the population.