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Ed Miliband sought to exploit Lib Dem unease at the coalition's plans for NHS reform during today's prime minister's questions.
The Labour leader asked David Cameron whether the government was planning to make any new amendments to the Health and Social Care Bill following the rejection of the reforms by the Lib Dem rank and file.
Delegates to the Lib Dem Spring conference in Sheffield last weekend voted in favour of an amendment which branded the health reforms "damaging and unjustified" and called on Nick Clegg to press for changes to the Bill.
Miliband told the Commons this afternoon that the reforms were "threatening the fabric of the NHS" as they increased private sector involvement.
But Cameron said the reforms were "drawn up as a coalition to improve the NHS" and were about "cutting bureaucracy and improving patient care".
The prime minister said Miliband should not "set his face against reform in the NHS" and had already made changes to the Bill including ruling out price competition in the health service.
Cameron said he "completely agreed" with Lib Dem concerns that the private sector must not be allowed to "cherry pick" the best parts of the health service.
"He might care to reflect under last Labour government the private sector was given £250m for operations that were never carried out," he said.
"Perhaps he would like to apologise for that cherry picking and support our anti cherry picking amendment."
But Miliband pointed to remarks made by Cameron when he was in opposition where he said he did not want to see any more "pointless top down reorganisations" of the health service.
The Labour leader said that was exactly what he and health secretary Andrew Lansely were proposing which was why "no body trusts him".
Cameron said he had not gone back on his previous comments as "we are not reorganising the bureaucracy the NHS; we are abolishing the bureaucracy of the NHS".
Ministers are facing a mini-rebellion this afternoon after four Conservative MPs Dr Sarah Wollaston, Charles Walker, Douglas Carswell and Anne Main tabled a Commons motion calling on the government to take greater account of the views of healthcare professionals.
The motion is an amendment to a Labour led debate on the government's planned reorganisation of the health service.
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