- Retired GP shouted at him 'the Bill is rubbish and you know it and you have given Mr Cameron one big headache'
- Eventually security guards and hospital managers threw a cordon round the beleaguered minister and ushered him onto a cardiac ward, locking the door
- Pensioner June Hautot, who confronted Mr Lansley last month also made an appearance bearing a sign reading 'Stop the Codswallop'
By Jill Reilly
Last updated at 5:08 PM on 6th March 2012
Health secretary Andrew Lansley was heckled by a group of protesters about his proposed Health and Social Care Bill while waking down a hospital corridor yesterday.
He was on a private, unscheduled visit to the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, North London when he was accosted by some fiery campaigners.
It is understood Mr Lansley was using the hospital to shoot an interview for an announcement about the health service, but the group caught up with him as he was making his way through the building.
Unaware: Mr Lansley (right in blue tie) was on a private, unscheduled visit to the Royal Free Hospital yesterday in Hampstead, North London when angry campaigners caught up with him
Clash: Police, security guards and hospital managers threw a cordon round the beleaguered minister as he was chased down the corridor with the retired GP shouting after him
In the 48 second video, the voice of Dr Ron Singer, president of the Medical Practitioners Union and member of the GPC can be heard shouting his health bill concerns.
'I am a doctor of 30 years Mr Lansley, explain to me how this is going to make patients better because nobody understands your Bill.'
'It has got 1,000 amendments because it was so poorly drafted,' the retired GP shouted.
'And now people are making amendments today because the Bill is rubbish and you know it and you have given Mr Cameron one big headache,' he added.
The GP was also joined by protestor June Hautot, bearing a sign reading 'Stop the Codswallop' - she hit the headlines last month when she angrily confronted Mr Lansley as he arrived for a cabinet meeting.
She had wagged her finger at the stunned Health Secretary, accusing of talking 'codswallop.'
Eventually police, security guards and hospital managers threw a cordon round the beleaguered minister and ushered him onto a cardiac ward and locked the doors.
In the manic scramble to get the Health Secretary away, he was ushered him onto a cardiac ward by hospital officials who quickly locked the doors
Meet again: Pensioner June Hautot, who made headlines when she confronted Mr Lansley last month in Whitehall was also in the group - the sign read: 'Stop the Codswallop'
Strong message: June Hautot, was outside the Royal Free NHS Hospital in Hampstead bearing a sign reading 'Stop the Codswallop! Lansley leave our NHS alone'
Speaking about the video posted online, Dr Singer says he was forced to pursue Mr Lansley after he failed to respond to requests from campaigners to talk by 'pushing past' them and ignoring their concerns.
Dr Singer said Mr Lansley's team had smuggled him into the hospital via a back entrance to avoid campaigners.
'When Mr Lansley came out of the room we all asked to speak with him but he just pushed past us, surrounded by police and security, into the next venue. I was so angry and frustrated that when he came out the next time I felt the need to shout my concerns,' Dr Singer said to the GP website, Pulse.
'He didn't look to the left or right. He just had a fixed face on and just totally and utterly ignored us, which is I think disrespectful and that's why I started explaining that I'm a doctor of 30 years. But he will only talk to people who will given him the message that support his views.'
Dr Singer added: 'I think he shows a level of arrogance at an organisation level and a personal level that is shameful. I think he looks in the mirror and sees a genius whereas everyone else sees an incompetent health secretary.'
We meet again: Last month June Hautot wagged her finger at the stunned Health Secretary, accusing of talking 'codswallop' as he arrived at a meeting on the future of the NHS
Andrew Lansley has defended the NHS reforms, saying 'at the heart of the bill has been achieving better quality for patients by empowering doctors and patients on the front line.'
The bill aims to give GPs control of much of the NHS budget and would open up the health service to greater competition from the private and voluntary sector.
But opponents say this will mean 'privatisation' of much of the service.
Dubbed one of the most radical plans in the history of the NHS, the bill has proved controversial.
Under the latest concessions, large increases in private work by NHS hospitals will require the approval of governing bodies.
Amid hostility from a large number of professional bodies representing doctors, nurses and other health workers, unions plan to stage a mass protest outside Parliament.
Last week a GP commissioning group came out publicly against the reforms, warning they were getting in the way of their work and were not needed to improve services to patients.
Liberal Democrat activists are attempting to hold a vote on axing the bill, at the party's spring conference this weekend.
The bill, which is opposed by Labour, is currently being debated in the Lords.
A Department of Health spokesperson said: 'The NHS is a matter for passionate debate. Ministers are used to meeting protesters on their travels and take that in their stride.
Good on him. It's a shame the rest of us doctors are too scared to publicly say what we think, for fear of reprisals from our wonderful employer, the NHS.
- lilly, birmingham, 06/3/2012 17:57
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