Protecting and Improving the NHS

12.00.00am GMT Sun 7th Mar 2010

We will make it illegal to allow a doctor to work in the UK for the first time without passing robust language and competence

tests. We will ensure that local GPs provide out-of-hours care. It's wrong that local hospitals can be closed without the communities affected having any real say. We will give people the power to take control over their local NHS through elected health boards. We will integrate health and social care to give a seamless service, ending bureaucratic barriers, and saving money to allow people to stay in their homes for longer.