NHS faces funding crisis unless reforms introduced, says David Cameron

Prime minister says challenges of ageing population and need to save £20bn in NHS spending over next four years mean status quo not an option David Cameron has warned that the NHS will face a funding crisis unless major reforms are introduced at the end of the government’s “listening exercise”. In a speech to NHS staff at Ealing Hospital in London, the prime minister attempted to reassure the medical profession by professing his love for the NHS. But he said the twin challenges of an ageing population and the need to save £20bn in NHS spending over the next four years, identified by the previous government, meant the status quo was not an option. Cameron, who said the government would respond to the findings of Steve Field’s “listening exercise” by the end of next month, outlined some of the key changes to the health and social care bill, including: • New GP-led consortia, which will replace primary care trusts, will have a wider membership. Hospital doctors will be more closely involved. • Competition will not be introduced to the NHS “for its own sake”. • There will be no cherry-picking of NHS services by private companies. • The NHS will look reasonably similar after the changes, and will not become a “space age institution”. Cameron wanted to use the speech to show that changes will be introduced to the social care bill and also to reassure Conservative MPs – who raised concerns at a meeting of the 1922 committee last week – that he is not being forced to change tack under pressure from the Liberal Democrats. The prime minister told that meeting he, and not the Lib Dem leader and deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, had decided to pause the bill. Cameron also commended Field, who was present for the speech, for his independence of thought after he raised concerns about the original health reforms. Field praised the prime minister for sanctioning a “real listening exercise”. NHS Health GPs Doctors David Cameron Conservatives Nick Clegg Liberal Democrats Liberal-Conservative coalition Nicholas Watt guardian.co.uk

Posted by on May 16, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.