Government officials insisted this did not amount to “a top-down reorganisation” in the mould of former Conservative health secretary Andrew Lansley’s changes, which were so extensive that the NHS’s then-CEO quipped they could be seen from space.

Scrapping NHS England is "the beginning, not the end", the Health Secretary has said, vowing to continue "slashing bloated bureaucracy".

Streeting: I’ll get rid of more NHS quangos and slash bloated bureaucracy - Sir Keir Starmer announced he would be abolishing NHS England to avoid ‘duplication’