A Government shake-up of the NHS could pose a risk to health services in the West Midlands as scores of senior managers leave the region to take up new posts elsewhere, officials have warned.

NHS West Midlands chief executive Ian Cumming said he was monitoring management cuts and changes with action plans put in place to secure the most talented staff.

Since the coalition Government came into power, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has revealed all primary care trusts (PCTs) and regional health authorities will be abolished by 2013 with the aim of reducing NHS management costs by more than 45 per cent over the next four years.

GPs will control 80 per cent of the NHS budget and also move some overseeing roles from the NHS to the council realms.

But it has also coincided with major management movement in the region.

Caroline Wigley, director of corporate affairs and leadership at NHS West Midlands, has warned that the movement of key players could be a risk to health stability in the region.

Miss Wigley said losing skilled staff was a major risk to the health authority because of the uncertainty of job stability with drastic cuts ordered to management. She said directors needed to have much more one-on-one time with senior staff reporting to them.

“The PCTs start to lose chief executives and their executive teams because the organisations are targeted to be abolished in April 2013,” said Miss Wigley.

“There is a risk to the health authority of directors increasingly spending more time at the Department of Health in London and less time in the West Midlands.

“The morale of health authority staff is low due to management costs reductions, downsizing and the organisation being abolished.

“All this movement of senior players is a major risk for delivering efficiency projects. This risk needs to be offset by more emphasis on responsibility and use of cluster chief executives.”

Miss Wigley has advised that “talent conversations” take place with key staff below director level and that the selection criteria for redundancy includes retaining important skills. An action plan has been drawn up for NHS West Midlands chief Mr Cumming to hold one-on-one sessions with individual trust chief executives about the issue, urging them to work on talent mapping of executive teams.

More mentoring and coaching support is also being offered to acting chief executives and directors.

From the region’s Health Authority, NHS West Midlands, director of performance Steve Allen has left to develop South Staffordshire PCT’s local healthcare system and Eamonn Kelly, director of commissioning, has resigned to become the new chief executive of NHS Worcestershire in January.

Sue James, chief executive of Walsall Manor Hospital since October 2003, will also leave to become CEO of Derby Trust in the new year.

Some of the region’s most respected managers have also been head-hunted by the Department of Health.

Denise McLellan, who became chief executive of Walsall PCT in April last year, is to be seconded to Department of Health to work for the National Primary Commissioning team.

Sophia Christie, CEO of Birmingham East and North PCT, joined the Department of Health in September while Moira Dumma, CEO of South Birmingham PCT has moved to be director of commissioner development for the region on secondment.

Staffordshire is also experiencing depleted numbers of public health staff which meant Dr Rashmi Shukla had to be drafted in to add support for South Staffordshire public health director Dr Aliko Ahmed.