Labour 'will not oppose all reconfiguration'

The shadow minister for care and older people spoke at the Managers in Partnership conference in Birmingham on Friday.

She said: “Labour will not have a blanket policy opposing changes to local health services. We will judge every case on its merits. The clinical case must be made and supported by the evidence.”

Her comments follow increasing concern from senior NHS leaders about political opposition to necessary service changes.

Ms Kendall also repeated Labour’s pledge to repeal the Health and Social Care Act, but without creating another NHS reorganisation.

She said: “If we win the next election we will repeal the 2012 Health and Social Care Act but we will not force the NHS through another reorganisation. We will ask those bodies that we do inherit to work differently.

“Changing the culture of service is often far more important to achieving outcomes and better care.”

She told the conference the ageing population and tough financial climate meant the service would need a continued focus on increasing efficiency and productivity.

Ms Kendall said: “We all know we are still not providing the very best care particularly for elderly patients and those with long term conditions.

“We’ve got to get far more out of the billions of pounds spent in the NHS.”

She said managers in the NHS should be supported and not “denigrated”, and warned there was still uncertainty about the roles of some of the new bodies created by the government.