ICBs have been asked to cut running costs by 50% from October 2025 and NHS trusts instructed to halve their corporate cost growth on pre-pandemic levels.

NHS leaders warned that without Treasury assistance, the redundancy programme will take much longer and potentially jeopardise the Government's reforms.

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said the scale and pace of downsizing was ‘staggering', adding leaders were struggling to find the right balance between improving performance and implementing reform.

Taylor added: ‘They have told us that unless the Treasury urgently creates a national redundancy fund to cover these job losses, any savings the Government hopes to make risks being eroded, at best and completely wiped out, at worst. If the Ten-Year Plan for Health is to be realised, it requires the NHS to be in a position of financial stability.'

Reports have suggested up to 30,000 job losses across the NHS, entailing a redundancy bill of £1bn.

Trust leaders have estimated they will need to cut between 200-500 jobs each, with ICBs estimating between 300 and 400 job losses.

Trust redundancy payouts and costs are estimated at around £12m with 3-11% of the workforce expected to go.