Conservative Party: Cameron makes the case for change in the NHS

Speaking to an audience of patients and staff at Ealing Hospital, David Cameron has said that the NHS needs to change to make it work better today and to "avoid a crisis tomorrow".

The speech came during the Government's pause in the passage of the NHS Bill to hear the public's views on the modernisation plans.

The Prime Minister was clear that modernisation was crucial to save the NHS from rising costs that pointed to a £20 billion funding gap by 2015. He acknowledged that frontline health professionals have concerns and re-iterated that "substantive changes" would be made to the reforms.

"There's only one option we’ve got, and that is to change and modernise the NHS, to make it more efficient and more effective, and above all, more focused on prevention, on health, not just sickness," said the Prime Minister.

"We save the NHS by changing it. We risk its long-term future by resisting change now."