'Passionate' PM defends NHS reforms

Feb 8 2012

David Cameron has launched a passionate defence of the Government's controversial NHS reforms in the face of Labour calls to drop the troubled legislation.

He stood by his under-fire Health Secretary, telling Labour leader Ed Miliband that Andrew Lansley's career prospects were "a lot better than his".

But Mr Miliband said the issue was now a matter of trust for the Prime Minister and asked: "Why won't you just give up and stop wasting billions and drop your Bill?"

Mr Cameron spoke about the care his family received from the NHS, an apparent reference to his disabled son Ivan, who died in 2009.

He told MPs in a heated Prime Minister's Question Time session: "I care passionately about the NHS, not least because of what it has done for my family and because of the amazing service that I have received.

"I want to see that excellent service implemented for everyone and that means two things: it means we have got to put more money in to the NHS, and we are putting the money in, but it also means we have got to reform the NHS."

The Health and Social Care Bill has returned to the Lords for further detailed scrutiny, with the prospect of entrenched opposition from some peers.