The Health Secretary was accused yesterday of seeking to establish a 'two-tier NHS' after he said hospitals would be allowed to set more wards aside to treat private patients.
Andrew Lansley said he wanted to see the end of the 'arbitrary' cap - imposed by Labour - on the amount hospitals can earn from private patients.
He suggested that wards which are closed as hospitals continue to reduce the number of beds could in the future be set aside for private patients.
But critics of the scheme said it could mean that hospitals would start chasing after private customers at the expense of NHS patients.
In the worst case, it could mean that NHS patients would have to wait weeks for a hospital bed while those rich enough to pay could buy quicker access.
The changes relate to the 'elite' foundation trusts, which now make up the majority of hospital trusts.
Tony Blair got FTs through the Commons in 2003 only after agreeing to an amendment that there should be a cap on the amount hospitals can earn from private patients.
In most trusts, this is around 2 per cent of income. But Mr Lansley wants to scrap the caps.
His White Paper, unveiled yesterday, said: 'Ahead of bringing forward legislation, we intend to consult on options for increasing foundation trusts' freedoms - while ensuring financial risk is properly managed.'This includes abolishing the arbitrary cap on the amount of income foundation trusts may earn from other sources to reinvest in their services and allowing a broader scope, for example to provide health and care services.'
Mr Lansley gave the example of the Royal Marsden cancer hospital in London, 25 per cent of whose income is from private patients. 'This money helps support the rest of the hospital in providing quality of service,' he said.
The Health Secretary said that many hospitals were reducing the number of beds because they were providing more services in the community, or were discharging patients more quickly after operations.
At present wards are simply left empty. If the cap is removed, hospitals would be able to reopen them as private wards although he warned that hospitals would still have to meet their ' NHS responsibilities'.
John Lister, of the pressure group Health Emergency, said: 'This will lead inevitably to a two-tier NHS, and is nothing less than a staging post for the private sector to run profit-seeking NHS hospitals.
'What we are seeing is turning back the clock to before 1948, when the NHS was formed.
Other parts of the White Paper propose allowing foundation trusts to compete freely with private companies for NHS patients.
'The Government's intention is to free foundation trusts from constraints they are under, in line with their original conception, so they can innovate to improve care for patients,' it says.
'In future, they will be regulated in the same way as any other providers, whether from the private or voluntary sector. Patients will be able to choose care from the provider they think to be the best.'
Mr Lister added: 'We complained about how far New Labour were moving towards privatisation. This leaves them standing.
'The government is driving a coach and horses through the public sector. Poorer people will find it harder to get beds in hospital in the future.
'The Government is more or less pushing foundation trusts into being straightforward companies. They will inevitably want to maximise the amount of work they do.
They will use assets built up by the taxpayer to deliver services for people who can afford to pay it. The whole essence of this White Paper is to fragment the model of the NHS.'
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