Abrahams welcomes health cost U-turn

Oldham East and Saddleworth Labour MP Debbie Abrahams has welcomed a U-turn by health secretary Andrew Lansley.

He says he will amend his Health and Social Care Bill to stop plans that would have allowed hospitals to undercut each other on cost.

Mrs Abrahams, who used her House of Commons maiden speech to highlight her concerns about the Bill, said: “This is good news for our hospitals and health providers in Oldham as they should now be able to concentrate on providing the best care they can based on quality and not who provides the cheapest service.

“Our struggle to preserve the principles of the NHS is far from over but, as a member of the Health and Social Care Committee,

“I will continue to push the Government to ensure our precious NHS is protected and not turned into a hotch-potch of competing businesses.”

The move comes after pressure from health professionals, think-tanks and the Labour party claiming that allowing health providers to undercut each other on price would lead to an NHS based on profit and not quality.

John Healey MP, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, said: “We are witnessing almost weekly flip-flops over a Bill which no-one seems to want apart from the Prime Minister and his Health Secretary.”