Andrew Lansely should have consulted on the white  paper reforms, Unison says

Govt in the dock on NHS reform

Govt in the dock on NHS reform

By politics.co.uk staff

The high court will be asked to brand Andrew Lansley’s NHS reforms illegal today when the government is taken to court by Unison.

The union says the health secretary failed to offer a consultation on any aspect of the reforms apart from their implementation.

“The NHS does not belong to the government, it belongs to the British people who have a moral and legal right to have their say in how the NHS is run and delivered,” said Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison.

“With breathtaking arrogance the government is riding roughshod over the public and trying to bulldoze through changes that will be the end of the NHS as we know it.”

In its judicial review application to the high court, Unison argued that the failure to properly consult breaches the partnership agreement between the Department of Health (DoH), the NHS constitution and section 242 of the NHS Act.