Devolve NHS power, urges Norman Lamb

Speaking at the NHS Confederation conference today, Mr Lamb said: “There needs to be a fundamental change from the situation at the moment where the only person accountable is the secretary of state to a situation where there is local democratic accountability for the commissioners.

“We need to scale back the DH.”

He said the survival of the NHS was at risk if it did not respond to expected cuts in funding.

“If it is to survive and prosper in the future it has to be capable of adapting to the challenges that now confront it.”