Under the Government’s controversial health service reforms, Ed Miliband warns that GPs will be given new powers to charge patients.

Mr Miliband said, “That the Health and Social Care Bill would impose European Union and UK competition law on the NHS – potentially exposing hospitals to ‘huge fines’ of up to 10% of their income.”

Speaking at a press conference at the Labour Party’s headquarters in London, Ed Miliband said, “That detailed scrutiny of the legislation was throwing up fresh concerns about implications for patients.”

“This bill is a Pandora’s Box. The more people look at the detail, the more profound and worrying the implications appear to be for the NHS.”

Mr Miliband pointed out to provisions in the legislation that would see GPs given new powers to charge for services, while at the same time, taking away the role of the Health Secretary in deciding what services the NHS should provide and transferring it to GPs.

Mr Miliband went on further to say, “I take David Cameron at his word when he says he has no intention of undermining the principle of providing healthcare free at the point of need. But I have never heard the Government explain what the effect of this transfer of power over charging GPs will be, nor seek to defend it.”

“Ministers had conceded during the committee stage of the bill that the NHS would increasingly be liable to both EU and UK competition law as a result of the Government’s market reforms.”

“The result would be that hospitals could be fined up to 10% of their income if they were found to have breached the legislation, which would deter hospitals from working with each other. Hospitals would also be subject to insolvency laws, which would mean that they could go bust in the same was as commercial businesses.”

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley denied the bill would allow GPs to charge or extend competition law to the NHS. He said, “That insolvency arrangements put in place by the former Labour government would stop hospitals going bust.”

“Ed Miliband is deliberately misleading the public. It is wholly inappropriate for him to use the NHS as a political football like this. Labour has no vision for our NHS except to cut the budget. Their constant scaremongering on the NHS has to stop.”

With the opposition party at loggerheads with the government over the NHS Reform Bill, the main concerns for opponents of the reforms is how will the future of the NHS be run. The latest criticism by Ed Miliband has highlighted the fact that NHS Hospitals could face millions in fines over competition laws. 

At a time when the NHS is facing cutbacks, the possible future fines is money that could be used to improve the NHS such as increasing the number of doctor jobs, more training and better patient care instead of financial penalties being imposed on them. 

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