Burnham thinks big for the NHS

Good stuff from Andy Burnham in today's Guardian profile not only acknowledging Labour's mistake when in Government of allowing the private sector into the NHS but setting out ambitious plans for integrating social care into the NHS: 'Once the market takes a hold on the system it will destroy what's precious about it. We had been building a policy that had been saying it doesn't matter who provides healthcare as long as it's free at the point of delivery. But I'm saying it does matter.'
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/aug/09/labour-risks-defeat-coalition-warns-andy-burnham
http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2013/aug/09/andy-burnham-interview-thinking-bigger

'If we were to make that shift to fully bring social care within the NHS, I think we could genuinely set the NHS up for the 21st century. I'm saying to Ed [Miliband], I will give you an NHS policy that is one nation to its core, people will say that's what one nation means, all people covered for all of their care needs in a system that is based on the values of the NHS.

What better way for Labour to say it's relevant to the 21st century than to bring forward a policy as bold in this century of the ageing society as the NHS was in the last?'