Cameron: 'Trust Me On The NHS'

The journal is published by the British Medical Association, which represents the interests of doctors.

Cameron and Health Secretary Andrew Lansley have already retreated from their original proposal to put family practitioners in charge of most of the NHS budget in the face of resistance from those working in the health system. The BMJ said today that the remaining plans lack a rationale.

'Five per cent would be OK for a normal constituency but we have DC as our MP…'

A Westminster source says: 'Cameron wouldn't disagree with anything in the memo but having it in the public domain is embarrassing because it acknowledges the major difficulties the Tories are having in getting people to join up under his leadership.'

THE Tories are now seen by voters as worse wobblers than Labour after 12 U-turns since forming the Coalition.

A YouGov poll for The Sun reveals a sharp loss of public trust in David Cameron's determination to see his plans through.

A Downing Street source said: "Stopping to listen is a sign of good government."

DAVID Cameron's pledge to protect the NHS unravelled even further last night after it was revealed hospital waiting times have soared. Damning new figures show the number of trusts failing to meet the 18-week deadline for patients to be seen after being referred by GPs has doubled in a year from 25 to 51.

A government spokesman said: “The latest data shows waiting times remain stable.”

Who knows if Cameron and his ministers are deluded, dangerously ignorant or snake-oil charlatans who hope no one will notice the real effect of remedies sold with enough flamboyant promise.

Cameron's "squeezed middle" expresses a genuine truth: the middle and bottom left behind for years on frozen incomes, are now "paying taxes to fund the bankers".

Cameron said "I think people respect a government that feels it is strong enough to say, hold on, we haven't got every element right, we're not taking enough people with us, let's stop, let's get this right. People will throw a few bricks at you, but so what?"

Tory MPs last night voted to cut support by £94 a week for those recovering from the disease – including some who have just finished chemotherapy.

Mr Cameron’s aides added to the insult by accusing Britain’s leading cancer charity Macmillan of using misleading figures about the number of those affected.

Mr Cameron at first denied the move, claiming the Government was helping the terminally-ill.

But he was forced to change his tune when it was pointed out this was not about the terminally-ill but cancer patients still in recovery. Clearly flustered, he accused the Labour leader of using the issue as a “smokescreen” to cover his party’s decision to vote against Welfare Reform Bill.

A Department for Work and Pensions spokeswoman said: “Recovering cancer patients assessed as still needing unconditional Government support will be placed in the support group of ESA Employment and support allowance and will see no change to their benefit entitlement after 12 months. Nor will there be any change for those on Income-related Employment and Support Allowance. We are working closely with Macmillan to ensure people with cancer get all the support they need.”

The Government's plans for the NHS must undergo significant changes, according to an expert report.

Key proposals in the report include: Altering the role for NHS regulator, Monitor. Private firms should not be allowed to 'cherry pick' patients and 'the Government should not seek to increase the role of the private sector as an end in itself'.

The Health Secretary must be ultimately accountable for the health service. Increased transparency about how the NHS runs. GP consortia must take advice from different professionals, including hospital doctors. The deadline of 2013 for consortia to take on responsibility for commissioning should be scrapped.

Thousands say they are ready to quit and are particularly angry the controversial Health Bill offers the chance for doctors to earn bonuses at the taxpayers' expense.

This will be another blow to Health Secretary Andrew Lansley who has been desperately trying to amend his reforms to quell rebellion within the NHS.

June 7, 2011

The Prime Minister will make "five guarantees" on the future of the NHS, guarantees for which he says he expects to be held personally accountable.

Mr Cameron will claim too much money is still being spent on "empty bureaucracy when it could be spent on the front line".

He will say it was right to increase NHS spending over the past two decades "in real terms from £38bn to £103bn", but will say the increase in spending has not been reflected in improvements in service.