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David Cameron has said he wants his government to be remembered for "the complete modernisation" public services.
Defending controversial plans to shake up the NHS, the prime minister welcomed the news that 141 GP groups have come forward to take on new commissioning powers ahead of their introduction across England in 2013.
And he invoked the memory of his late son Ivan when told an audience in London that his passion for the public services is both "personal and political".
"Personal because I've experienced, first-hand, how dedicated, how professional, how compassionate our best public servants are," he said.
"The doctors who cared for my eldest son, the maternity nurses who welcomed my youngest daughter into the world, the teachers who are currently inspiring my children, all of them have touched my life, and the life of my family, in an extraordinary way and I want to do right by them.
"And this is a political passion - and priority - of mine too. I believe that Britain can be one of the great success stories of the new decade.
"These reforms aren't about theory or ideology - they are about people's lives."
Speaking on the Today programme this morning Cameron insisted there was "a lot of enthusiasm" for the planned reforms and that the pace of change was being driven by doctors.
"We're getting close to spending the European average on health..but we are a long way from having he best outcomes," he said.
"I don't think there is an option of quietly standing still, staying where we are, and putting more money in."
He added: "The doctors increasingly were asking for changes".
But in a letter to The Times today ahead of Wednesday's publication of the Health and Social Care Bill the heads of six health unions warned of their "extreme concerns" about plans to create greater commercial competition between the NHS and private companies within the health service.
Article Comments
The much-vaunted reforms of health secretary, Andrew Lansley are deeply flawed on a number of counts.
Politically, these plans were never voted on by the electorate in May, when the Tories promised there would be no major reorganisation of the NHS. Now they are intending to introduce a bill to Parliament that is five times greater than any previous NHS bill put before MPs.
Karen Reay, national officer for health, Unite
17th Jan 2011 at 11:38 am
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