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NHS England’s abolition sets the stage for deep cuts to come
Behind Starmer’s headline-grabbing abolition of NHS England lies a ruthless drive to centralise control so that cuts of £6.6 billion can be made — even if it means reducing cancer services and clinical staff, writes JOHN LISTER

A MASSIVE new reorganisation aimed at tightening financial controls on the NHS hit news headlines on March 13 with Sir Keir Starmer’s surprise announcement that NHS England (NHSE) is to be abolished.

Few campaigners will shed many tears at the dismantling of NHSE. Its role from the beginning was as the “national commissioning board” overseeing the competitive market for healthcare established by Andrew Lansley’s disastrous mega-“reform” that took effect from 2013.

But nor is there any obvious enthusiasm to go back to the previous model of New Labour’s market-style reforms, primary care trusts, strategic health authorities, privatisation and “world-class commissioning” — although that does seem to be the model that Streeting and Starmer are hoping to recreate.

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