Unison withdraws claim of right to NHS judicial review
(about 3 hours later)
By Branwen Jeffreys Health correspondent, BBC News
Unison has withdrawn its claim that it had won the right to seek a judicial review of government plans for changes to the NHS in England.
Public sector union Unison has won the right to seek a judicial review on the consultation over plans for changes to the NHS in England, it says.
The union now says its legal action remains at an earlier stage.
The coalition wants to give GPs control of the budget with local trusts which manage the money now being abolished.
Unison is seeking to challenge plans by the government to give GPs control of their own budgets, and abolish the existing local health trusts.
Unison says the plans were not in the parties' election manifestos.
It says the proposals were not in the election manifestos of either the Conservatives or Liberal Democrats.
It says the public has a legal right to be consulted. The government said it had not yet had confirmation of the decision from the courts.
Unison put out the correction at 2120 BST, just under three hours after it had said its bid for a judicial review had been successful.
The plans for radical changes to the health service were published in a white paper in July.
The government's plans for radical changes to the health service in England were published in a white paper in July.
The abolition of primary care trusts came as a surprise to many within the health service as the coalition programme for government had envisaged a continuing role for the NHS organisations.
The proposed abolition of primary care trusts came as a surprise to many within the NHS, as the coalition programme for government had envisaged a continuing role for the NHS organisations.
The union wants the consultation to include whether the changes should happen, and not just how they can be made to work.
Unison argues that the public should have a legal right to be consulted on the changes.
Karen Jennings, the head of health at Unison said "These drastic changes to the NHS were not in any manifesto - the public did not vote for them.
"They don't come from a desire to do the best for patients, but from the government's ideological standpoint that the market knows best."
The coalition government has argued that the changes will give doctors and nurses a far greater say in the running of the NHS.
GPs will have to organise themselves into groups of practices which will take on the legal responsibility for planning and buying most healthcare for their local community.
Some highly specialised care will be commissioned at a national level by the independent NHS board which is also due to be created.
A date for a hearing at the High Court has yet to be set, but it could happen before the draft legislation is presented to parliament later this year.
The hearing will focus on the consultation process, rather than the substance of the government's plans.
