The new shadow health secretary Andy Burnham has held out an olive branch to his Tory counterpart Andrew Lansley over the battle ground for health reform that may well dominate the next few months in Parliament.
Burnham has said : "Drop your bill and we'll work with you to reform NHS commissioning"
whilst adding
"The NHS is now in the danger zone. You have failed to build a consensus around your plans. It's time to stop digging in. Listen and change course or you will damage patient care."
Burnham,who was appointed on Friday has written to the health secretary with what he calls a constructive offer to resolve the "dangerous stalemate" on NHS reform.
Burnham believes the financial challenge is the overriding priority for the NHS but that the Government's contested top-down re-organisation is proving to be a dangerous and damaging distraction.
This is a genuine offer and I hope he will accept it. But make no mistake - we will fight the Government every step of the way if it tries to force these dangerous reforms on the NHS. They will unpick the fabric of the NHS and it will never be the same again."
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