'Ministers criticise handling of NHS reforms' - claim

The ConservativeHome website warned that the highly contentious health service overhaul could be "electorally fatal" and most of the plans must be scrapped.

Editor Tim Montgomerie claimed the shake-up was David Cameron's "greatest mistake" with many feeling that the prime minister "isn't listening" to the party.

"One [cabinet member] was insistent the bill must be dropped. Another said [health secretary] Andrew Lansley must be replaced. Another likened the NHS reforms to the poll tax," Mr Montgomerie wrote.

"The consensus is that the prime minister needs an external shock to wake him to the scale of the problem."

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley defended his reforms in a speech in Edinburgh on Friday, saying: "I do believe we are about to see a huge upward shift in quality in the NHS in England. I want patients in the NHS to enjoy outcomes, results, that are consistently among the very best available anywhere in the world."

David Cameron backed the health bill on Wednesday, amid calls from Labour to drop it entirely. He also said his health secretary, Andrew Lansley, had his full support after speculation that his position was in doubt following opposition to the bill from medical groups.

The reforms would be the biggest shake-up since the founding of the NHS and would put GPs in control of much of its budget with plans to encourage more competition with the private sector.

One was insistent the bill must be dropped. Another said Andrew Lansley must be replaced. Another likened the NHS reforms to the poll tax. -Tim Montgomerie, ConservativeHome editor

'Electorally fatal'

Mr Montgomerie said that one cabinet minister rang him with concerns about the Bill on Tuesday following the publication of a column that claimed a No 10 adviser said Mr Lansley should be "taken out and shot".

He said a new health secretary was needed to restore trust with medical professionals.

"So, I think we need a new Secretary of Health to be the front person for this important area of public policy," he said.

"The feeling is, David Cameron isn't listening enough to internal party feeling and this is why I have gone public."

The government has already been forced to make more than 100 changes to the Health and Social Care Bill, but the concessions have failed to quell critics, including the British Medical Association and the Royal College of Nursing.

Shadow health secretary Andy Burnham said: "We already know that the Prime Minister isn't listening to doctors and nurses. But it's a shock to find out that even senior members of his own Cabinet have to take to a Conservative website to get through to him about the damage he is doing to the NHS."