This site is intended for health professionals only


Reaction: Health bill passed by Parliament

BMA chair Dr Hamish Meldrum

 

'The passing of this Bill marks a significant moment for the NHS. As clinicians directly involved in providing care in the NHS, there will still be opportunities to try and temper some of the worst potential consequences of the legislation and keep a health service which, despite this legislation, is still putting patients first in years to come. ‘

 

‘We may not have won this particular battle but we will still continue to fight to protect and preserve what is best about our NHS.'

 

 

Professor Wendy Savage, co-chair of Keep Our NHS Public

 

‘This is an awful Bill. It will damage patient care. It will waste precious public money on an unaccountable and more complicated bureaucracy and legal costs as private providers fight for thousands of healthcare contracts. It will damage the health of the most vulnerable patients and their communities. If it is not scrapped as soon as possible it will destroy the NHS, so valued and loved by those who work in it and those who depend on it.'

 

NHS Confederation chief executive Mike Farrar

 

‘We need to heal the rifts that have opened as many of our clinical staff have debated the merits of the bill. The Government should start by giving them a compelling narrative for implementing these reforms.'