John Reid has launched the NHS Employers Organisation - an independent body which will have responsibility for a number of workforce issues including the pay and conditions of all NHS staff.

In what the Department of Health claims is an example of devolving power away from Whitehall, the new body will be run by the NHS Confederation.

Its main responsibilities will be to draw together NHS employers' views on how to implement employment policy within the service.

"The employers organisation will provide an authoritative voice for NHS employers," the health secretary said.

"Within the context of government policy and resources, it will have responsibility for conducting national negotiations on pay and conditions without interference from Whitehall."

Approximately 50 posts will be transferred from the Department of Health to the Employers Organisation.

The posts will cover national pay policy, disciplinary frameworks, recruitment campaigns and HR communications.

The NHS Confederation represents the organisations that make up the NHS.

Its chief executive, Gill Morgan, said the new organisation, which will come into existence on October 1 this year, will "link the needs of employers, staff and patients to drive improvement".