Trusts cut thousands of non-clinical staff

NHS trusts cut nearly 9,000 posts between March and December 2024 as they try to balance the books, HSJ has learned.

Provider staff numbers fell by 8,539, taking the whole time equivalent temporary and substantive workforce below 1.5 million, according to figures seen by HSJ.

An NHS England source said the share of medical and nursing staff had risen over the year, which suggests most of the cuts were focused on non-clinical staff. They said there had also been reductions in clinical agency and bank workers.

The news follows NHSE chief financial officer Julian Kelly announcing on Thursday at the national body’s board meeting that overall workforce costs had fallen by 0.6 per cent so far this year and that agency usage was on course to fall by nearly £1bn.

High-profile trusts that have launched headcount reduction exercises this year include Mid and South Essex Foundation Trust, which announced plans to cut around 600 posts, and the Northern Care Alliance FT, where more than one in 10 non-clinical jobs were to go.

It comes as the Bank of England said that the health service’s difficulties with boosting activity levels could be weighing down the wider economy.

In a report published on Thursday, the Bank warned of a slowdown in productivity across the wider economy, partially driven by health and education.

It said: “Employment in these sectors has risen significantly since 2019, particularly in health-related activities, but these sectors have also seen significant declines in their measured productivity per hour.”

A board report authored by Mr Kelly said productivity at acute trusts – measured by comparing staffing costs and spending with patient treatments – was growing at above 2 per cent a year, although it remains below pre-pandemic levels.

The data only includes acute trusts, but Mr Kelly said that provisional figures from community, mental health and ambulance services showed productivity was improving at a slightly faster rate.