Government hails progress of NHS reform over 12 months

The government has highlighted the progress it has made with reforming the NHS since coming to power 12 months ago.

On the anniversary of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition's formation, health secretary Andrew Lansley noted that various measures have been implemented to give patients more choice and access to medical data.

According to the minister, infection rates and waiting times have fallen since the government came to power, while bureaucracy and waste has also been minimised, with 2,500 doctors having been hired as the expense of 3,000 managers.

He also noted that investments have been made for future progress, such as the creation of a cancer drugs fund, while the reform programme outlined in the Health and Social Care Bill is also still to be introduced.

"Over the last 12 months, we've made great progress in building a stronger NHS for the future," Mr Lansley said.

This comes despite the criticism levelled at the planned NHS reforms by the Royal College of General Practitioners earlier this week, which suggested that not enough clarity has been provided on how the changes will work in practice.