Another lurch to the right from the Lib Dems. They look set to follow the Tory and Labour policies of taking work out of the NHS and sending it to the private sector paid for by taxes. More shrinkage in the NHS, less money for a service that has suffered greatly and needs support - why would any sane party back this?
This is from the BBC:
Nick Clegg faces a fresh test of his authority as Lib Dems prepare to vote on plans for a more personalised NHS.
The Lib Dem leader is seeking to put a bruising revolt over Europe behind him as he gears up for his party's spring conference in Liverpool.
But his plans for a decentralised NHS - with more private care - are expected to spark a grassroots rebellion.
It comes as the Tories accuse Mr Clegg of stealing their policies. Labour has also proposed a "personalised" NHS.
The Lib Dems' NHS shake-up plans include directly-elected local health boards and greater use of the private sector.
Mr Clegg is also proposing a "patient guarantee" - which will allow people to go private if they can not get the treatment they need from the NHS.
He denied this was the same as the former Conservative policy of a "patient passport".
'Vulnerable people'
The Tory policy was a "passport out of the NHS," he told BBC News, but the Lib Dem proposals only came in when the NHS had failed to provide.
He told a rally in a room at the new Liverpool arena, as the conference opened on Friday evening, that the proposals were about putting patients first.
"When the health service fails to meet the standards to which vulnerable people are entitled, they should be allowed to look elsewhere for the treatment they need," he told a packed room.
But some activists are concerned about proposals to give local authorities the power to take over the provision of health care and the greater involvement of the private sector.
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