Department of Health to cut two fifths of its staff

The health secretary, John Reid, has announced cuts that will see the number of staff at the Department of Health shrink by more than a third over the next 12 months.

Dr Reid said the plans to shed 1400 central staff–38% of the total–by October 2004 were the “most significant and ambitious ever undertaken by a Whitehall department.”

He told the House of Commons health select committee's inquiry into public expenditure last week that he wanted to redirect savings to the front line of the …