NHS constitution ‘will devolve power to front line’

A constitution for the NHS would help to “nail down” the fundamental principles of the NHS, health minister Andy Burnham has said.

The government has recently come under fire from workers and unions, who allege the NHS is slowly being privatised, pointing to the recent outsourcing of NHS Logistics duties to DHL, a German parcel delivery firm.

Mr Burnham admitted that in “changing times”, there would be uncertainty, but that a constitution would offer the chance for front line staff to take decisions and provide confirmation of the aspects of the NHS that would never change.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “What I’m saying is let’s nail down, let’s put down, what is unchanging about the NHS; the values that we all believe in in the Labour movement.”

“The NHS should be available to all, regardless of where people live, free at the point of use, and based on your need not your ability to pay,” Mr Burnham added.

Yesterday, in an interview with the BBC’s Andrew Marr, Tony Blair denied that it was government policy to privatise the NHS.

The prime minister said he recently visited a burns unit, adding it was not possible for market forces to be solely responsible for administering treatment to a patient with severe third-degree burns, for example.