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David Cameron and Nick Clegg have defended their plans to shake up the running of the NHS.
On Monday health secretary Andrew Lansley made a highly unusual statement to the Commons announcing a "pause" in the passage of the Health and Social Care Bill, amid concerns the government did not have the public or its Lib Dem contingent on side.
Under measures in the legislation GPs will take charge of commissioning services for patients and some primary care trusts will be abolished.
The move triggered widespread opposition from healthcare unions as well as the base of the Liberal Democrat Party.
The Unite union has said "no amount of government listening" can "disguise the reality which is that the bill is bad news for the NHS".
Rachael Maskell from Unite has said: "Quite simply, this bill cannot be saved. In the weeks to come, all sorts of fudges will be proposed, but if the government is truly listening it will understand that they only way forward is to ditch this bill and start again."
But speaking in Frimley in Surrey today alongside Clegg and Lansley, the prime minister said he genuinely wanted to listen to what healthcare professionals had to say about the reforms.
"I'm in politics not to take risks with the NHS, not to threaten the NHS in any way, but to safeguard and improve the NHS for today and for future generations," he said.
"We've got a natural break before the legislation reaches its final stages in Parliament.
"We are taking this time to pause, to listen, to reflect and to improve our NHS modernisation plans."
He said it was a "genuine chance to make a difference" and that the government needed NHS employees to be "really on board" with the reforms.
Cameron added: "We will listen and make any necessary changes. Let us work together for a stronger NHS".
Clegg sought to reassure hospital staff at the event that no government of which he was a part would ever do "anything to undermine" the NHS.
"This coalition government will not mess around with the basic principle at the heart of the health service," he said.
He said the legislation would not allow the "cherry picking" of parts of the health service by private companies.
"We're certainly not going to allow vital parts of the NHS, like A&E, to be suddenly open to competition," he said.
The Lib Dem leader admitted it was unusual for a government to take such a public pause in pushing through legislation but said it reflected the unusual nature of the coalition government.
He said the reforms aimed to cut bureaucracy and hand more power to local communities.
"There will be no privatisation of the NHS," he insisted, adding he would not allow a "US style healthcare system where they check your credit card before they check your pulse"
Yesterday Clegg suggested the outcome of the two-month process would be "substantive changes" to the reforms.
Article Comments
The Conservatives cannot be trusted with the NHS. As soon as they got into Number 10 they launched their white paper titled 'Liberating the NHS' without a shred of a manifesto commitment for the dogmatic proposals it contained.
The title sums up their disdain for the NHS. Why the Lib Dems let them do this is a mystery and shows that their MP's are without convictions.
Rehana Azam, National Officer, GMB
7th Apr 2011 at 9:33 am
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