Bill paves way for new round of NHS changes

The structural framework on which the government plans to rebuild the NHS in England was set out in a bill introduced in parliament last week. It reforms the system of primary care and introduces executive control of clinical governance.

The health secretary, Frank Dobson, described the bill as a “landmark in the government's programme to address fundamental problems in the NHS.” But doctors' leaders criticised the bill's lack of specific detail. Professor Mike Pringle, chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners, said: “The bill is about structure-not function or process. It is also, …