George Eustice MP welcomed a group of constituents to his surgery in Camborne on Saturday and was grateful for the opportunity to hear their concerns about the proposals for changes to the NHS. He also received a petition from local people which he will take back to Parliament.
The meeting came in a week in which David Cameron has set out five changes to the proposals as a result of the Government's listening exercise. Mr Cameron has said ministers had "learned a lot about how to make our plans better" during the two-month consultation.
These changes are:
Doctors and nurses will be involved in new consortia planning and purchasing care, not just GPs
These groups will only take responsibility when they are ready
New "clinical senates" will oversee integration of NHS services across local areas
Regulatory body, Monitor, will have a duty to promote integration of care across an area
Greater competition will only be introduced when it benefits patient care and choice
George Eustice said "The NHS is a great British institution but I think we can make it stronger by cutting bureaucracy and giving more power to doctors and nurses and that is what the current government bill aims to achieve. However, it is also a big organisation and we need to be careful that we don't make changes that have unintended consequences which is why I am pleased the government has paused to listen to the concerns of the medical profession and I was delighted to have the chance to meet local campaigners to hear first hand their own concerns"