Job » The 01/02/2012 à 11h21 by david galland
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The government is to promise the health secretary will keep ultimate control over the NHS in England, as it pushes for Parliament to pass its NHS bill.
The legislation, which would bring a fundamental reorganisation of the service, has encountered opposition from peers and various groups.
But ministers will later table amendments aimed at quelling unrest.
These will include giving more powers to the health watchdog and doing more to encourage medical research.
Through the Health and Social Care Bill, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley is proposing the biggest shake-up since the NHS was founded in 1948.
Under the plans, groups of GPs will take charge of much of the NHS budget from managers working for primary care trusts, while more competition with the private sector will be encouraged.
The British Medical Association, the Royal College of Nurses and the Royal College of Midwives have all opposed the proposals, with some critics claiming they are unworkable and amount to "backdoor privatisation".
This led Prime Minister David Cameron to "pause" the proposed shake-up in April last year.
The bill returns to the House of Lords next week and the government is publishing several amendments aimed at bolstering support.
One states that the health regulator, Monitor, will have the power to require that healthcare providers supply "integrated services". For instance, hospitals would have to work more closely with district terms after patients are discharged.
Another stipulates that medical research should be a "core function" of the NHS, to allow it to keep pace with foreign competitors
And another amendment promises patients a greater say in how health services are commissioned.
In a further effort to appease critics concerned about accountability, an amendment will "explicitly clarify that the secretary of state retains ministerial responsibility to Parliament for the provision of the health service in England".
On the ground, changes are already being made to pave the way for the new system provided by the NHS bill to start in 2013.
From BBC News