NHS must reform to avert crisis says Lansley (but he's willing to change his plans)

By Jason Groves for the Daily Mail
Updated: 19:38 EST, 2 June 2011


Andrew Lansley said radical reforms of the NHS must be driven through

Andrew Lansley said radical reform of the NHS must be driven through

Andrew Lansley yesterday launched a desperate last-ditch bid to get his unpopular NHS reforms on track.

The Health Secretary claimed the changes were vital to avoid a £20billion funding black hole which would mean thousands of people being denied drugs and operations.

He spoke days after the end of a month-long ‘listening exercise’ on his plans to hand control of most of the NHS budget to GPs and give them freedom to use private providers.

In an article for the Daily Telegraph, he promised ‘substantial’ changes, saying the health service ‘is facing huge challenges that, if not dealt with today, will almost certainly mean a crisis tomorrow’.

Issues include an ageing population and spiralling cost of drugs.

He warned that by 2030 health spending would more than double to £230 billion.

Mr Lansley repeated he would never privatise the NHS – a key concern of the Lib Dems.

But the BMA, the doctors’ trade union, said plans to hand bonuses to GPs who ran their finances well was ‘completely unethical’.

Mr Lansley, who is engaged in a struggle with Nick Clegg over the future of his plans, insisted major reforms were needed to prevent a £20billion funding shortfall within four years.

He also issued a stark warning that the basic principles of the NHS could not survive unless major changes were brought in.

He said: ‘We will never privatise our NHS.

'But if we choose to ignore the pressures on it, the Health Service will face a financial crisis within a matter of years that will threaten the very values we hold so dear – of a comprehensive Health Service, available to all, free at the point of use and based on need and not the ability to pay. I will not allow that to happen.’

Mr Lansley said his reforms – which include giving GPs power over the commissioning of services – were essential to keep a lid on cost rises being driven by an ageing population and the development of new medicines and procedures.

He said that without reform the cost of the NHS would hit £130billion in today’s money, leaving a £20billion black hole.

By 2030 the cost of the NHS would more than double to £230billion – equal to more than £7,000 per second.

‘This is something we simply cannot afford,’ he said. ‘Our health service is facing huge challenges that, if not dealt with today, will almost certainly mean a crisis tomorrow.’

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