News from The Labour Party

Cameron’s NHS plans not credible and cannot be trusted

What is becoming clear today is that the Tories cannot keep the promises they are making. Not on tax promises. Not on spending commitments. And not on the NHS either.

Andy Burnham MP, Labour’s Health Secretary, responding to David Cameron’s comments on the NHS today, said:

“David Cameron’s plans on the NHS are not credible and he cannot be trusted.

“Cameron promises no NHS cuts – but in the very next breath pledges to cut the things that matter most to patients – their right to see a cancer specialist within two weeks or to be treated within a maximum of 18 weeks.

“Scrapping national targets is a recipe for a return to the kind of postcode prescribing that was a hallmark of the Tory NHS in times past. It takes power off the public and hands it back to managers and professionals.

“He needs to tell us today which local areas in the Midlands and the South will see their funding cut to pay for the increases in other areas.

“David Cameron’s new pledge is a complete humiliation for Andrew Lansley and his shadow health team. But, as always with Cameron, it feels as though it owes more to his addiction to political positioning than a coherent health policy.

“The utter incoherence of Cameron’s health policy is exposed by research showing that the areas that have benefited most from the introduction of national targets are the areas with the highest health needs.”

Other news from The Labour Party

• Miliband tells Cameron: Save 6,000 nurses by abandoning NHS reorganisation now - 5 February 2012
• "We need what you might call 'one nation banking'" - 3 February 2012
• Burnham: "Mental health must move from the edges to the centre of the NHS" - 31 January 2012