End of an era: abolishing NHS England

Welcome to this April issue of the Journal of Prescribing Practice. Well, they say a week is a long time in politics, but it's been an eventful few weeks since I last wrote to you. Last month, Polly's editorial looked at the changes to NHS funding and sustainability, and stated that change was promised, but how quickly could the new government begin? Within a few short days of publication of her editorial, however, the government seemed to suddenly announce that they would be abolishing NHS England. Keir Starmer and Wes Streeting assured the public that this was to ‘cut bureaucracy’ and to reform how the NHS is run, NOT to be detrimental to services but rather to improve them.

But for many of the general public, this statement was at best confusing and at worst, in parts scary, as many people admitted they were not fully aware of the role of NHS England and they feared this was an abolition of the NHS. The media was quick to jump on the story and, indeed, the BBC article of 13 March helped to clarify information around this for the public (BBC, 2025). Despite this quick move towards clarity, I'm sure many of you will have had questions and worries from your patients, carers and clients around what this means for them (and for you) going forward.