Health and Social Care Bill returns to parliament

The government has announced that parliamentary discussion of the controversial Health and Social Care Bill has resumed this week.

Having put its progress through parliament on hold over the summer as it sought feedback on how to improve the planned legislation, MPs resumed debate over the bill on September 6th 2011.

Core principles of the bill include a health professional-centric approach to management, greater choice for patients, better integration of services and more transparency on admitting errors.

It has seen more parliamentary scrutiny than any public bill between 1997 and 2010, with numerous changes having been made since the listening exercise was conducted this summer.

Health secretary Andrew Lansley said: "The Health and Social Care Bill will both safeguard the future of our NHS and move us closer to a health service that puts patients at the heart of everything it does."

Despite this, the bill still faces opposition from many healthcare bodies, with the British Medical Association suggesting earlier this month that the reforms place the future of the NHS at risk.