Minister apologises as nurses rebel over reforms

HEALTH Secretary Andrew Lansley was forced to make a humiliating apology after suffering an unprecedented vote of no confidence by nurses.

The vote over his handling of the Government’s health reforms was backed by 99 per cent of delegates at the Royal College of Nursing’s annual congress in Liverpool and was the first ever by the union against a Health Secretary.

It marks a new low for Ministers as they battle to sell the plans for the biggest-ever NHS re-organisation.

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Last night an embarrassed Mr Lansley admitted he had been “rebuked” and in a major concession, he conceded for the first time that GPs would not be in sole charge of designing NHS services.

The coalition has come under a series of attacks over its plans which critics claim could severely damage the NHS as it also gets to grips with a £20bn cost-cutting programme, worth more than £400m in Yorkshire in the next year.

The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust has become the latest to announce plans for £32m in efficiency savings, worth eight per cent of turnover, among the highest in the region.

Mr Lansley yesterday faced heavy criticism from angry nurses who warned his plans would lead to worse patient care.

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Nurse Debbie Simmonds accused the Government of being “ideologically driven” in seeking “a market solution to its financial difficulties”. And she added: “Caring for the sick and vulnerable in society will never make a profit.”

RCN chief executive Peter Carter urged Ministers to listen and said the vote reflected “passionate and honestly held concerns” that the plans could destabilise the NHS.

Shadow Health Secretary John Healey said: “Nurses have confirmed today that the Health Secretary has lost the confidence of the NHS. But the real test now is for the Prime Minister on whether he will make the root and branch changes needed to his reorganisation plans for the health service.”

Mr Lansley later told a panel of nurses he was “sorry” for failing to communicate his plans to health workers. “If there is an ideology in what I am doing, it is a belief in the National Health Service,” he said. “I want to enable the NHS to be stronger and protect the NHS. I am sorry if what it is I am attempting to do is not communicated.”

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He said nurses would play a greater role in designing services, adding: “We’ve got to design it now so it’s that kind of broad clinical engagement. I know that nurses are not only the largest healthcare profession but are responsible for the delivery of most healthcare and are often in the best place to be able to see the whole pathway of care.”

Of the vote, he told reporters: “It’s not something I sought out. I think many of the things I’ve heard this afternoon will help us get to the right place.”

Asked last night whether he too owed an apology, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: “What we owe everybody is to do what we are doing, to listen to those that have got anxieties and concerns and objections to the plans we set out to improve the NHS, an NHS everyone loves, everyone cherishes and everyone wants to protect.

“Let me be absolutely clear. Any Government to which I’m a part will always cherish and protect the NHS. The key thing is let’s now get the detail right.”

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The Mid Yorkshire trust plans to save £60m in total over two years but managers say opening new hospitals in Wakefield and Pontefract will give them significant scope for efficiencies which are double the minimum required in the NHS.

Chief executive Julia Squire said: “It is towards the top end but given the massive opportunities with the new hospitals, I think it is deliverable.”