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Ministers promise change to NHS reforms

The Government has promised to “listen and engage” with those with concerns about the NHS reforms during the two-month “pause” in the Health and Social Care Bill’s passage through Parliament.

Deputy PM Nick Clegg promised “substantive change” to the reforms to address concerns, including on the governance of GP consortia, the role of the private sector in the NHS, and the detail on accountability and transparency.

He will join Prime Minister David Cameron and Health Secretary Andrew Lansley to answer questions about the reforms from NHS staff at a Home Counties hospital.

Following Lansley’s unusual step on Monday of telling Parliament there would be a “pause” in the legislative process of the Bill, some assumed it was simply a PR exercise designed to sell the existing reforms better, rather than amend the Bill. But government sources have suggested there will be genuine changes.

Clegg said yesterday: “Of course there is a lot of controversy. But the basic idea that GPs who know patients the best should be given more responsibility for the way the system works, I think that is relatively uncontroversial. What is controversial is the detail, and that is why we need to get those details right, including increased accountability and scrutiny and transparency of the way in which they manage those responsibilities. It is a dilemma which we want to address. We think there should be proper transparency and accountability of the way in which GPs discharge this new role that they will have.”

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