BMA dismisses call to oppose NHS reform bill

The British Medical Association (BMA) has rejected calls from members of its organisation to stand against the government's planned NHS reforms in their entirety.

During the association's annual representative meeting, conference attendees narrowly voted against the idea of opposing the Health and Social Care Bill following a series of discussions.

It was generally agreed that the changes made to the legislation in the wake of the government listening exercise have not gone far enough to assuage all of the BMA's concerns.

However, it was also acknowledged that some progress had been made and that taking a completely antagonistic stance to the bill would result in the BMA being frozen out of the debate over its future.

Council chairman Dr Hamish Meldrum said he believes the organisation is gaining ground in putting forward its concerns, adding that further pressure for additional amendments will be applied.

This comes after the organisation reacted with guarded positivity to the government's altered bill proposals earlier this month, with Dr Meldrum saying the changes will put the legislation "on a better track".