Labour accuse Tories of threatening NHS 'founding principles'

The Tories have been accused of putting the founding NHS principles under threat by concentrating on profits which have left patients waiting longer for treatments.

The shadow health secretary Andy Burnham promised to put patients first by reversing the privatisation of the NHS conducted by the Conservatives since gaining power in the coalition government.

Turning to one of the policy areas that traditionally favour the party, Burnham will announce that if Labour wins the election on 7 May, it will scrap David Cameron's NHS market and put new safeguards in place to ensure NHS patients are put first.

Measures to ensure this will include tougher controls on Trusts' Private Patient Income to prevent the emergence of a two-tier healthcare system, where those who can pay for prompt access to treatment while waiting times lengthen for NHS patients and repealing the Tories' market framework for the NHS to halt the drive towards privatisation.

Burnham highlighted new evidence of a growing NHS sell off since the Tories introduced their Health and Social Care Act, claiming it has put profits before patients and that if the current situation is allowed to continue a two-tier system will emerge with those who can paying to get prompt access to treatment, while NHS patients are pushed to the back of the queue.