Andy Burnham vows to reverse ‘marketisation’ of NHS

The shadow health secretary Andy Burnham has vowed to reverse the trend of NHS services becoming privatised should the Labour Party win power in 2015.

At a speech during the party's annual conference, the MP warned that some NHS hospitals were planning to double the number of private patients they treat, a trend which he believes is undermining the founding principles of the NHS.

According to the party, the scale and pace of the government's "marketisation" of the health service is damaging and could create a situation in which profits are prioritised over patient care.

Mr Burnham therefore said Labour will focus on introducing measures such as better integrated care and stronger relationships between the NHS and local councils.

He said: "I've never had any objection to involving doctors in commissioning; it's the creation of a full-blown market I can't accept. So I don't need new organisations. I will simply ask those I inherit to work differently."

The government is implementing a range of sweeping reforms to the NHS under its Health and Social Care Act, with numerous new administrative bodies having come into effect at the start of this month.