Chairman of the British Medical Association Hamish Meldrum has warned that 2011 is likely to be “an exceptionally testing time” and urged doctors to remain “closely involved” in the government’s programme of “unnecessarily ambitious” reforms.

In his new year message Dr Meldrum said, “Set against a backdrop of an unprecedented financial challenge, with efficiency savings of at least £20bn [€23bn; $31bn] being sought in England alone, the Government is pushing ahead, at breakneck speed, with an unnecessarily ambitious programme of reform in England.

“I believe there is a continuing need for the profession to remain closely involved in how the NHS develops, in putting our evidence for change forward, and …