Health and Social Care Bill (Programme) (No. 3)

No, not for the minute. That change was the result of improved working practices developed by the people working in the national health service, not the result of any structural changes. It was also partly the result of the biggest hospital building programme in history, as well as a lot more new and better equipment, newer GP surgeries, 78,000 extra nurses and 27,000 extra doctors. Those were among the reasons that the NHS became so much more popular. It is popular because, for most people in most parts of the country most of the time, it is already doing a very good job. However, that is now going into decline, because many people working in the NHS carrying out pre-legislative preparatory work on the proposed changes are having to divert their efforts into bringing about structural change. That is one of the reasons why waiting lists and waiting times are going up—something that the Government deny is happening.