Hewitt pledges to continue NHS reforms

Heath Secretary Patricia Hewitt has said that the government's controversial reforms of the NHS will continue, warning that they are the only way to "safeguard" the future of the service.

Giving a speech in London, Patricia Hewitt said that these were "difficult times" for NHS staff. She said: "There's a sense that many in the service no longer know where it's going. I believe the changes and the reforms we're making are not just consistent with the founding values of the NHS, they are the only way to safeguard those values for the future."

However, Dr Richard Vautrey, a negotiator on the British Medical Association's general practitioners committee called for an end to the changes being made in the structure of the NHS, which he said was wasting millions and making long-term planning impossible.

He said: "This obsession with management reorganisation has wasted millions of pounds, led to instability and has made long-term planning of health services a bureaucratic nightmare.

"We all need to get off this magic roundabout of change and spend time finding out what is really best for patients."

The Conservatives accused Labour ministers of trying to cover up NHS "blunders" under the cloak of reform.

Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said: "If what Patricia Hewitt means by reform is local A&E services being shut down, up to 20,000 NHS staff losing their jobs, nurses who can't find employment, mapping NHS cuts for political gain and unprecedented deficits, then we don't want her reforms.

"Labour are trying to cover up for their failures in the name of reform. But it is their reforms that have flooded the NHS with incoherent and inconsistent policies and are responsible for constant upheaval. We need reforms that work for NHS staff and patients and give a clear sense of direction."

Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Steve Webb said: "Calling for yet more 'drastic' reform will horrify hard-working doctors and nurses, who have been subject to permanent revolution in the health service. The government incessantly forces through changes within the NHS, reversing reforms from just a few years earlier. What is needed is a period of stability so that the health service can make long-term plans."

(KMcA/EF)