Does anybody really believe anything this totally incompetant government promises anymore? Every picture tells a story and the faces of this bunch couldn't be more explicit in that even they don't believe that pigs will ever fly. Cameron should be climbing all over them.

Chris, Aberdeen,

Apparently this announcement was made without any consultation with the GMA and without their prior knowledge even though they had asked for discussions with the government prior to Xmas. How can Brown be taken seriously without such a consultation.

This is just another example of Brown's style, thinking he knows best ,without even bothering to consult the experts.

This is clearly just an attempt by Brown to try and relaunch his government and to make everybody forget all his governments recent incompetence.

The man is just floundering and looks more ridiculous by the day . I can remember John Major trying the same thing ,constantly trying to relaunch his failing government. The comparisons are obvious and the result will be the same.
Brown's government like Majors looks tired and clearly lacks any direction or vision.

It is very much time for a change!!!.The longer he goes on the greater will be his defeat.

eric, hull, uk

It would be better if this government concentrated on a decent long strategy for the NHS instead of constant re-organizations eg PCGs to small PCTs back to large PCTs (read old health authorities) more policy and yet more targets. The NHS hasn't got much better where I live despite all the cash. You still wait too long.

More policy doesn't lead to better services unless the policy is right and it can be implemented over a sensible time frame. Haven't we been here before - remember Choosing Health, wonder what happened to that?

Angela, Durham, Durham

I am so tired of empty rhetoric. Unfortunately the downside of our £70 billion health budget appears to be that the private sector gets to write DoH policy - just as the National Programme for IT in the NHS (another £20 billion) seems to have been based on a powerpoint presentation to Mr.Blair one afternoon a few years ago. 'You get what you pay for' used to be the old adage. Now you'll get what's left over after the private sector have been at the trough.
All health professionals are loathed by the civil service because they feel they cannot control them properly. The 'reforms' (HA!) of the last 5 years have been designed to completely disempower them resulting in low morale & complete disenchantment. The DoH has calculated that they can live with this because the private sector will step in & just take over. I'm not so sure they can provide the range & depth of service required, but time will tell

Jonathan, Bath, UK

This government has just reduced spending on Cardiac and Renal units. Where will the money and manpower come from?
Even if wea re all scanned, those of us with problems will not get treated because the national institure for clinical Excellence will not fund the cost of the medicines needed. this new "vision" will like other announcements will be quietly dropped until another soundbite is found to bolster the Prime Minister's flagging popularity. Lets have a vote so that we can have an elected prime minister.

G P Coombe, Winkleigh , England (in a hell of a state)

To Sandra's comment - why is so much money put into general practice? The simple fact is that 80% of the NHS work load is carried out in primary care- roughly 260 million consultations a year. Would you like millions of these consultations to take place in hospitals- they would be over run- and the people that actually need acute care would be marginalised by the worried well. I am sorry your experiences have been so bad with your GP. I work 110% for my patients- I always have and always will - I believe many improvements are needed but I still believe in primary care despite the proganda spued by the daily mail and such like that you so obviously support.

PS before you say it. I dont earn £100,000 (I wish) and I do work weekends and evenings.

Dr Patel, London,

Didn't he promise us that he would make sure that everyone would have access to an NHS dentist?. At his last attempt of all curing reform 50,000 people in Leeds lost their NHS dentist.
Pray tell, how is this going to be achieved by cutting NHS training posts from 15,500 to 9,000 and driving two thirds of trainee doctors abroad in search of work?.
No! this is just another piece of fanciful hype, where Mcbean makes a lot of promises, hopes we will believe him, then goes away and does his usual nothing.

john, Leeds,

So that's it?

Global economic problems, oil $100 a barrel, Iraq / Iran, War on Terror, and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom goes on prime time TV and radio to announce.......health screening for the over 65s.

MarkS, Leeds,

There is very little evidence that "Health Screening" makes the slightest difference to health outcomes. Various programes, such as over "75 year old screening" and much child health surveillance have been abandoned over the years because they gave little benefit for much time spent. Whilst a "check up" from the doctor may make a patient feel that they are in good health, this is often false reassurance and a licence to avoid important lifestyle modifications that would have a significant impact on long term health. This is another example of politicians meddling in areas that they are poorly qualified in order to woo the populist vote.
It is time to remove the NHS from political control and allow clinicians to alocate resources on the basis of clinical need rather that political expediency.

Dr Richard Weekes, Ullapool, Scotland

I'm counting to see how many hours it takes for GP representatives to say 'where's all the extra money we will need to provide these extra services?'. They'll conveniently forget their 30% pay rise a short time ago for less work and estimated average pay packet of 110k. I went to see my GP a couple of weeks ago with a problem with my shoulder. At the end of my consultation my GP asked me whether I kept an eye on my weight. Yes, I said, I'm more or less the exact recommended weight for my height. Confused by this apparently totally irrelevant question, it was only later that I realised that probably a tick in a box to the effect that my GP had considered my weight and lifestyle issues meant more (unearned) taxpayers' money for the practice. I just hope that the overseas drs who can now comptete equally with home grown ones for jobs bring with them a bit more ethical awareness than the money obsessed ones we're currently stuck with.

Clive, Chichester, UK

Screening is not prevention!!!
My father had tests on his heart carried out and was given the all clear, two week slater he dies of a heart attack!

Martin, Nottingham,

The most effective thing that Brown and Co could do for the NHS is to just leave the darn thing alone...

Phil C - heard that before but it was Gordon Brown and Bankers!

DickW, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

As a Practice Manager in a busy GP Practice for the last 10 years I would like to say this is something we have already being doing i.e. providing primary care, promoting preventative medicine. As Gordon Brown signals the green light for supermarket to provide GP surgeries, it is those very same supermarkets that are making our population obese and hypertensive through thier promotions. Please let the doctors make the decisions instead of vowing to punish us if we do not perform. After all we are not God, but always try to do our best. God save this country!!!

William Smith, London,

There will be a twist in this. We know very well that Bean doesn't trust the people one inch- probably he's right as he knows that the people loathe him and would overthrow him tomorrow given half a chance- and that as our all-knowing; all-seeing master he knows all the solutions much better than anyone else. With Brown's announcements there are always the good sounding bits in the first spin- the real bad news - the sting in the tail - comes later . Let's see what it is this time.

Doug, Glasgow,

This seems like a good way to get everyones DNA on file. Me suspiscious, never.

Cromwell, Leeds, ENGLAND

Oh Mr Brown aren't you wonderful, after having our health screening, we will all know whats wrong with us and we will be told about the all the advanced medications that the NHS will not pay for because the efficacy of medication is still being assessed by the NHS.

After it has been proved beyond by all reasonable doubt that new treatments work, NICE will turn around and say we do not believe that the benefits of this medication justify the price being charged by pharmaceutical companies.

Mr Brown please do something useful, support the Legislation that the EU trying to introduce, which will enable NHS patients to be treated in Europe rather than being patronised in their own country.

Everyone is fed up with political spin, cancer patients just want to be treated with the best drugs and given prompt radiotherapy etc which still isn't happening here.

People are having to demonstrate to get access to drugs that cost just a few pounds per day!

You sound pathetic Mr Brown.

Graham Wharton, St Albans, uk

How much longer are we going to be conned with this mythical idea of patient choice! As always unless you have money and are mobile enough to travel somewhere else where things are better, your choices are substantially limited. Why keep pouring resources into GP's practices? GP's work less hours than before and as a patient I have less confidence in their expertise and specialist skills than staff in hospitals. Yet this Government persists with this notion of pouring resources, with lots of strings to create GP super practices. It's a nightmare trying to get an appointment with my GP now with existing services, so what will adding more services to these practices do to help? What about turning the tide and putting the pride and support back into the grossly undervalued hospitals at the heart of our communities with resources, like scanners that will be underused if these new policies are implmented.

Sandra, Exeter, UK

I don't want to hear anything from President Brown when we we already have highly paid ministers who are supposed to be doing the job. The Secretary of State for Health should be announcing this. Evidently Brown no longer trusts his own cabinet henchmen and henchwimmin with important policy pronouncements.

Gordon Alexander, Frome, UK

I suspect that behind the promise of health monitoring programs lies the threat that if we do not act on doctors' warnings to change our lifestyle then we will no longer be entitled to free treatment.

It would tie in with last week's warnings to smokers and the obese.

There is much detail waiting to be heard. We all very well know from his previous Budget statements that Brown only picks out the favourable headings and leaves the unfavourable details to be picked over and released bit part by the media as they read the small print.

Edwin, Bucharest,

More of the usual spin. What's the point of more choice when it takes months to see specialists and when you finally get into hospital you end up with MRSA? I would really like to know how much of the taxes I have paid in the last 10 years have gone to the NHS and how much of that money has been wasted!

Latest joke....what's the difference between Estate Agents and Gordon Brown? Estate agents are only hated by 99% of the population and know when to quit!

Phil C, London, UK

I think it should really be seen as extraordinary that such decisions are made and announced by politicians instead of by professionals within the NHS.

Nigel, London,

We don't want more power or choices when we're ill Gordon. Patient power and choices are just political gimmicks to cover up incompetence and inefficiency. What we want is the local hospital to do a good job. Simple as that.

Ian , Benfleet, UK