Labour plans to scrap the Government’s controversial NHS reforms if they win the next general election, Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham (pictured) has said.

Speaking in Parliament during a debate opposing the reforms, Mr Burnham insisted the changes open the door to privatisation within the NHS and undermine the health service in general.

He said that Labour will “repeal the bill” if elected claiming it to be a “defective, sub-optimal piece of legislation” that has left the NHS with a “complicated mess”.

The Shadow Health Secretary added that it would be “irresponsible” to leave the Health Act in place if Labour were elected and added that the “gap between ministers’ complacent statements and people’s real experience of the NHS gets wider every week”.

“They are in denial about the effects of their reorganisation in the real world, it is dangerous complacency and it can’t be allowed to continue.”

Health Minister Simon Burns countered Mr Burnham’s claims by reminding the Leigh MP that Labour leader Ed Miliband had previously said he would keep clinical commissioning in place if elected as prime minister.

But the former Health Secretary insisted “it’s not about the organisations, it’s about the services they provide”.

“The existing organisations can be asked to work differently, as I would ask them to work differently,” he said.

“I don’t want those NHS organisations in outright competition, hospital versus hospital. I want them working collaboratively.”

Labour leader Ed Miliband has attacked the Government’s handling of the NHS reforms insisting they ignored the views of key healthcare professionals.

Speaking at the Royal College of Nursing conference, Mr Miliband accused the Government of pushing ahead with its controversial structural changes despite serious concerns from the RCN.

He said the Government had dismissed the RCN as “just a ‘vested interest’” but insisted they are actually the “defenders of the health service”.

“The government have been acting like they are the masters, not the servants, of the NHS,” said the Labour leader. “They are not the masters. Not this government. Not any government.

“Our health service is owned by patients, professionals and the people. And their voice – your voice – deserves to be heard.”

Mr Miliband added that he couldn’t promise to agree with the College on all matters but would not ignore them as the Government had done during the ‘listening exercise’ as part of the Health and Social Care Act.

Nurses were told that Mr Miliband wants to create a partnership with the College to address long-term challenges facing the health service. “I want to start working with you now to protect the values of the NHS and to hold the government to account for what’s going on,” he said.

“You are not just on the frontline in our NHS. You are the first line in the defence of our NHS.”

The Labour leader also revealed a new party initiative during his speech. NHS Check will allow staff and patients to report problems encountered by hospitals, clinics and GPs as a result of the NHS reforms.

The Government’s controversial NHS reforms have again come under increasing attack as Lib Dem peers in the House of Lords are set to launch fresh amendments to the Health and Social Care Bill.

Lib Dem peers have again tabled a series of amendments including plans that allow the Competition Commission powers to review competition and that Foundation Trusts require permission from governors before sanctioning private contracts.

Tim Farron, President of the Lib Dems, has also called for all elements of competition to be scrapped from the legislation – which is set to resume its passage in Lords this week.

The Lib Dem move follows calls from Labour leader Ed Miliband to join forces with his party’s peers to put a halt to the reforms.

Writing in a letter in the Sunday Mirror, Mr Miliband said it was now time to make a stand before it’s too late. “The Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords must join with Labour to hole David Cameron’s health plans below the water line,” he said.

“If they do not the betrayal by the Lib Dems in allowing this bill through will be bigger than the row over university tuition fees.

“They will betray not only the people who rely on today’s NHS, but also generations to come.”

Mr Miliband’s comments followed those of former NHS Chief Executive Lord Crisp who described the reforms as a “mess” and missing the point.

Lord Crisp, speaking to the BBC Radio 4’s The World This Weekend, said he believed the bill was “unfortunately setting the NHS back”.

“I think the great mistake that the current Government has made – and I can say this as an independent and not a politician – is that this is a terrible confused and confusing bill,” he said.

“It has tried to elevate the ideas of competition and the use of the private sector, which are just mechanics, just mechanisms, as if they were the purpose.”

A DH spokesman played down the on-going criticisms of the reforms insisting the plans will

“harness the expertise of local doctors and nurses, who know better than anyone what their patients need”.

“The proposals promote health in partnership between the NHS and local communities and put local authorities in the driving seat alongside clinicians for improving the health of their communities,” said the spokesman.

“Improving integration between all health and care services is a crucial part of modernising the NHS.”

The Government has lost the first vote on the Health and Social Care Bill after the legislation returned to the House of Lords.

Peers backed an amendment that mental health is made a higher priority under the reforms by a margin of just four votes.

Earlier in the day, during Prime Minister’s questions, Labour leader Ed Milliband called the Bill a “complete disaster”.

Other amendments on the powers and responsibilities of the health secretary were also discussed by peers – although none were voted on. But peers did accept a Government-backed amendment specifying that the health secretary retains “ministerial responsibility to Parliament for the provision of the health service in England”.

Cross bench peers also raised additional amendments to those proposed recently by the Government which are to be discussed in coming weeks.

Ana Nicholls, Healthcare Analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit says the defeat is not a major blow to the Government. “This appears to [be] only a preliminary setback for the reforms, with the main debate over competition in the NHS not expected until March,” she said.

“Still, it adds to the pressure on the Government over the reforms, following as it does on the back of several medical bodies made their opposition clear. Clearly there will be a rough few weeks ahead. Nevertheless, it will be difficult at this stage to call a halt to the reforms, given that the reorganisation already taking place amid the primary care trusts and strategic health authorities.”

The Faculty of Public Health became the latest healthcare body to call for the withdrawal of the Bill – hours after the Institute of Healthcare Management made a similar unprecedented call.

The recent amendments made by the Government to the Health and Social Care Bill are nothing more than minor tweaks, the BMA has said to its peers.

Amendments to the legislation, including that the health secretary will keep ultimate control over the NHS and that Monitor would be given more power, were not enough to satisfy the Association.

In a briefing paper to peers, the BMA argues that the whole approach to the reforms has not been “effectively managed” and has again called for it to be withdrawn as the Bill remains “fundamentally flawed”.

The Bill returns to the House of Lords on Wednesday 8^th February, ahead of the start of the Lords’ Report Stage.

Certain efforts have been made, the briefing paper acknowledges, by the Government to listen to the concerns raised by the BMA. However, issues including the speed of change and implementation, the complex nature of the reforms and the lack of consideration of the consequences has led to Dr Hamish Meldrum, BMA Chair, saying “the level of complexity and bureaucracy in the new NHS will be huge”.

“We recognise that some of the amendments recently set down by the Government suggest modest improvements,” he said.

“But these do little to address the issues which continue to cause us great concern, for example: an over reliance on ‘market forces’ remains at the core of the Bill, there is excessive control over commissioning groups, plans for incentives for commissioning are ill-thought through, and proposals to give hospitals more scope to generate income from private patients pose serious risks.

“It would be better to withdraw the Bill altogether and come up with a new plan – one that will actually improve care and make the NHS more efficient.  

The BMA’s call for the withdrawal of the Bill have also been echoed by Ed Milliband. The Labour leader, who claimed the money spent on the reforms would have saved the jobs of 6,000 nurses, said it’s not “too late to stop this Bill”.

“We have three months to prevent great harm being done to the NHS,” said Mr Milliband. “Now is the time for people of all parties and of none, the professions, the patients and now peers in the House of Lords to work together to try to stop this Bill.”

Former Health Secretary Andy Burnham (pictured) has replaced John Healey as shadow Health Secretary as the Party gears up to contest the coalition Government’s NHS reforms.

Burnham’s appointment follows Healey’s resignation in the wake of the decision by the Labour Party Conference to abandon cabinet (and shadow cabinet) elections.

The shadow cabinet reshuffle comes at a time when health policy is seen as a key priority for Labour in opposition.

Andy Burnham, MP for Leigh, was Health Secretary for the last six months of the previous Government, and was formerly Culture Secretary. He is currently shadow Education Secretary.

The Labour Party’s failure to stop the approval of the Health and Safety Bill by the House of Commons leaves it faced with major challenges in opposing an NHS overhaul that Burnham has called “unnecessary”.

John Healey’s resignation and that of shadow Business Secretary John Denham followed the Labour Party Conference’s approval of leader Ed Miliband’s call for the abolition of Party rules regarding shadow cabinet elections.

The new rules mean that the Party leader has personal control over the selection of the shadow cabinet (or in government, the cabinet).

John Healey, MP for Wentworth and Dearne, served as a Local Government Minister and a Housing Minister in the Brown administration.

In his resignation letter to Ed Miliband, Healey stated that family commitments were the reason for his resignation as shadow Health Minister.

The Health and Social Care Bill has been compared to the Poll Tax in its public unpopularity and potential risk for the Government. However, Liberal Democrat support for the revised Bill has left the Labour Party unable to build on the widespread opposition to it among the medical professions.

Shadow Health Secretary John Healey has been replaced by former health minister Andy Burnham (pictured) as the Labour Party prepares to oppose the NHS reforms.

The appointment follows Healey’s resignation in light of the Party’s decision to abandon cabinet and shadow cabinet elections.

Andy Burnham, MP for Leigh, is currently Education Secretary, but was Health Secretary for the last six months of the previous Government, and formerly worked as Culture Secretary.

Healey’s resignation was joined by Business Secretary John Denham after the Labour Party Conference approved leader Ed Miliband’s call to scrap Party rules regarding shadow cabinet elections and give the Party leader personal control over the selection of cabinet.

In his resignation letter to Ed Miliband, Healey claimed that family commitments were his reason to resign as shadow Health Minister.

David Cameron has made five ‘guarantees’ for the NHS in an attempt to ease worries over the health reforms.

The Prime Minister has guaranteed the NHS will remain a universal service, that reforms will improve care, hospital waiting times will be “kept low”, spending will increase, and that competition will benefit patients.

But Labour leader Ed Miliband dismissed the pledges insisting that the PM has “mismanaged the NHS” and the reforms have brought “chaos, confusion and damage to patient care”.

In a series of speeches aimed at reassuring the public over the controversial shake up to the NHS, the Prime Minister is expected to say that ministers have “learnt a lot” about how to make the plans better during the ‘listening exercise’ and following the conclusion of the NHS Future Forum.

He will again restate the case for modernising the NHS adding that, if no action is taken, the health service may “buckle under the pressure” of the challenges it faces in the future with an ageing population and rising healthcare prices.

“We will modernise the NHS – because changing the NHS today is the only way to protect the NHS for tomorrow,” Mr Cameron will say.

“We will stick by our core principle of an NHS that is more efficient, more transparent and more diverse... But I will make sure at all times that any of the changes we make to the NHS will always be consistent with upholding these five guarantees.”

“There can be no compromise on this. It is what patients expect. It is what doctors and nurses want. And it is what this Government will deliver.”

However, Ed Miliband insists that Mr Cameron has already broken two of the pledges meant to assure the public over the future of the NHS and wasted huge sums in the process of reform.

“David Cameron is the first Prime Minister in history to be forced to set out five pledges to protect the NHS from his own policies,” he said. “Yet, he has already broken two of those pledges. The number of people waiting 18 weeks for treatment has gone up and he has not protected the health service budget.

“Hundreds of millions of pounds, which should have been used for patient care, are being wasted on handing redundancy notices to staff from primary care trusts who may now have to be rehired.”