Health Secretary urges British Medical Association to ‘stop the sabre-rattling’

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The British Medical Association should stop “sabre-rattling” and work with the Government on the future of general practice, the Health Secretary has said. It comes as leading scientist Professor Sir John Bell said doctors in the BMA have “been a major drag on reform of healthcare”, as a report on the health service is published. “If you’re thinking about eggs you’re going to have to break – I’m afraid that the stranglehold that the medical profession is broadly to have on the way we run a healthcare system is going to have to be sorted.” Earlier this year, the University of Oxford announced Sir John was stepping down from his role as regius professor of medicine to take up a new position as president of the Ellison Institute of Technology Oxford. Now we have a Health Secretary prepared to listen, and it’s vital he does, working with us to undo years of untold damage Professor Phil Banfield, BMA He added: “It’s no secret that the newly elected Government inherited an NHS in England widely wrecked from year upon year of relative underinvestment – particularly of general practice.