SWEEPING changes to the way the NHS is run have been formally revealed by Secretary of State for Health Andrew Lansley.

The reforms will see the end of NHS Haringey as the health body in the borough, with GP consortia taking up the job of commissioning services.

NHS London is also set for the axe, with a country-wide NHS Commissioning Board overseeing health policy in conjunction with Mr Lansley.

The changes are seen by many as the biggest shake-up of the NHS since it was formed, and will see Haringey Council take on added responsibility for public health protection.

GPs in the borough have already formed a consortium before today's announcement of the legislation proper, and are preparing to enter the process of taking on commissioning responsibilities.

A House of Commons select committee criticised the policy yesterday, warning the coalition government that the NHS had not been given enough time to prepare for the upheaval.

And a host of unions have express concerns at the changes, particularly focusing on the scale of changes being proposed and the speed of introduction. The plan is for Primary Care Trusts to cease to exist within just over two years.

Karen Reay, Unite national officer for health, said MPs and health professionals are “angry the excellent progress made to improve healthcare in this country over the last decade will be destroyed.”

Prime Minister David Cameron came under attack for the reforms in Parliament today, as Labour opposition leader Ed Miliband accused him of “arrogance” for pushing ahead with the plans in the face of deep-seated concerns across the industry.

But ministers have pointed out that almost 150 GP groups have already put themselves forward to pilot the change-over into commissioning, and Mr Lansley, introducing the legislation, said he believed modernise the service was necessary rather than an option.

He set out the five key aims of the reforms as: to strengthen commissioning of services; increase accountability and the public's voice; liberating NHS services; strengthening services; and reforming health care and arm's length bodies with the NHS.

Local GP consortia will be allocated funding by the over-arching commissioning body on a yearly basis, and the Bill insists doctors must not spend more than they have been given.

However, they could earn bonus money for the borough if the consortium is deemed to have performed well during a year.

The legislation will now be discuss at length and scrutinised by Parliament before it can become law.

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