Healey: NHS plans 'reckless'

Wednesday, 23 February 2011 12:00 AM

John Healey MP, shadow health secretary, said in response to False Economy's NHS job loss numbers:

"These cutbacks call into question the Tories' handling of the health service. The government is piling extra pressure on the NHS with its huge high-cost reorganisation and by breaking the prime minister's pledge to give the NHS a real rise in funding next year.

"David Cameron promised to protect the NHS but cuts on this scale will hit patient care, and there's a big risk that we will now see the NHS go backwards. After big improvements in the NHS with Labour, people are starting to find waiting times rise, operations postponed, services cutback and frontline posts frozen or cut.

"David Cameron also told the country before the election that he'd tell any cabinet minister making cuts to frontline services to go and think again. It's him who should think again about his reckless plans for the NHS.

"The Tory-led government has asked parliament to vote an extra £1.8 billion to pay for its big reorganisation of NHS management. This is wasted money which could pay for almost 15,000 nurses for the next three years."

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