Health Secretary Steve Barclay has pledged to be 'ruthless' in cutting NHS red tape, aiming to save tens of millions of pounds and redirect resources to patient care. The move comes as part of a review launched with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, which is expected to recommend scrapping hundreds of performance targets that Barclay says burden clinicians with 'time-sapping admin'.
Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Barclay stated that patients want extra funding from the Autumn Statement to go towards fixing frustrations rather than funding bureaucrats. He emphasised the need to remove barriers, reduce admin time for clinicians, standardise NHS building designs, and increase transparency through online management charts.
The review, led by former Labour Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt, will focus on streamlining the health service. Targets likely to be scrapped include the four-hour A&E waiting time target, which has not been met since 2015. The hefty NHS Operational Planning and Contracting Guidance document issued annually to trusts may also be cut down.
A Treasury source said the aim is to slim down national targets, retaining important ones like ambulance response times and cancer treatment, while eliminating burdensome tick-box exercises that do not improve patient outcomes. Hewitt is expected to deliver her report in the new year, with interim findings next month.
