Ex-NHS chief says changes a mess

25 February 2012 Last updated at 23:53 ET

The health bill calls for the NHS to be opened up to greater competition

Labour leader Ed Miliband has called for Liberal Democrat peers to ruin the government's controversial health bill.

The bill, overhauling the NHS in England, is having a difficult passage through the House of Lords where peers have tabled a number of amendments.

Writing in the Sunday Mirror, the Labour leader said if the Lib Dems backed it, the outcry would be worse than the row over student tuition fees.

Ministers say the bill will empower doctors and increase patient choice.

The Health and Social Care Bill's proposals include giving GPs control of much of the NHS budget and opening up the health service to greater competition from the private and voluntary sector.

Lib Dem president Tim Farron has called for competition elements to be stripped from the legislation, while the party's activists are preparing an emergency motion for their spring conference next month, which calls for the "whole competition chapter of the bill" to be defeated.

Mr Miliband said: "This week is the time for everybody to stand up and be counted. The Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords must join with Labour to hole David Cameron's health plans below the water line.

"The House of Lords has the chance to puncture the arrogance of an out-of-touch prime minister who thinks he knows better than patients, nurses and doctors and persuade him to drop this bill."

Ageing population

He added: "They will betray not only the people who rely on today's NHS, but also generations to come."

The bill has passed through its Commons stages but its progress has been delayed in the Lords, despite the government tabling more than 100 amendments. Peers will continue to debate the bill next week - with competition in the NHS expected to be a sticking point.

A series of groups representing medical professionals has come out against the bill - most recently the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.

Mr Cameron said on Wednesday the bill would "abolish the bureaucracy that has been holding the NHS back".

He added that reform was needed to deal with the challenges of an ageing population and the rising costs of medical treatments and long-term conditions.

26 Feb, 2012

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Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/uk-politics-17169519
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