The announcement of a period of “pause and reflection” is a further embarrassment for the coalition which has already had to backtrack on other policies including the proposed sale of much of England’s publicly owned forests.Cameron said he remained passionate about the NHS but stressed during a speech at a hospital in Surrey: “the status quo is not an option.”“We recognize that there are some big questions about what we are doing. Doctors and nurses are asking what your plans mean for us,” he said.“We hear that — and we want to work with you, not against you.”Tensions in the 11-month-old Conservative/LibDem coalition surfaced last month when the Lib Dems voted for alterations to the plans at a party conference.Senior politicians put on a united front on Wednesday with the Conservative prime minister sharing the stage with his LibDem Deputy Prime Minister Clegg and fellow Tory Health Secretary Andrew Lansley.Pointing to an ageing population and rising costs in treatment and medicines, Cameron remained adamant the NHS had to modernize and become more efficient.But he said the government would look again at the Health and Social Care Bill as it awaited its final stages in parliament.“We’re taking this time to pause, to listen, to reflect and to improve our NHS modernization plans,” he said.As part of the listening exercise, a new group of patient representatives, doctors and nurses will be brought together and report back to government.Under legislation before parliament, family doctors in England will take charge of spending around 60 percent of the huge NHS healthcare budget by 2013. Two layers of management will be removed with the loss of thousands of jobs. It will also become easier for private companies to provide medical services in the NHS.
