Public 'Bemused' Over Coalition's NHS Reforms

Senior doctors claim the bitter political row over the Government's Health Reform Bill is leaving patients "bemused".

It comes after Labour leader Ed Miliband MP said the controversial bill must be stopped.

In a newspaper article, he declared there are just three months "to prevent great harm being done to the NHS".

Dr Chaand Nagpaul, a GP in north London and council member of the British Medical Association (BMA), told Sky News: "The public... the patients actually have huge levels of satisfaction and trust in the NHS.

"They didn't ask for wholesale reorganisation. I think most of them are quite bemused and quite concerned."

The BMA is among a collection of medical professional bodies opposing the far reaching reforms in England.

They estimate three quarters of NHS workers have stated their opposition to the bill.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said: "Any reform of something as important as the NHS will cause controversy."

He added: "Trade unions like the BMA opposed the very creation of the NHS. Labour used to support reform but now they are jumping on the bandwagon of opposition in order to please their trade union masters."

The Department of Health points out that many GPs in pilot areas are already backing and embracing the changes.

Dr Mark Spencer who works in Ealing, west London, is one of them.

He told Sky News: "I understand the anxieties but at the same time if we are in a system where there's increased pressure on the money, increased demand for how we spend our money, then getting clinicians involved in those decisions has to be a good thing."

The House of Lords will debate the bill later this week.