Plans to pay for cancer patients facing long waits in the NHS to have private consultations have been criticised by doctors’ leaders as “a non-issue” that risked a dangerous fragmentation of healthcare.

The proposal, to be announced today by Gordon Brown as part of his major policy relaunch, was described as a distraction from key issues in healthcare and an unnecessary expansion of NHS reliance on the private sector.

It comes as a poll carried out for the start of British Medical Association’s annual conference showed that nine out of 10 people fear NHS services will be cut as a result of the recession, with fears raised about commercial involvement in the health service.

The survey of 1,071 people from across the UK suggested 89 per cent believe waiting times for treatment will increase during the economic downturn, while 85 per cent think there will be more charges for NHS treatments.

More than three-quarters of the public said cuts should be made in other government departments to protect NHS funding, according to the survey, released by the British Medical Association (BMA) on the eve of its annual conference in Liverpool.

Hamish Meldrum, the BMA’s chairman of council, said the research showed public anxiety about the effects of the recession on the health service and how the Government's “dogmatic and misguided plan to commercialise the NHS” had gone too far.

Dr Meldrum questioned Mr Brown’s new policy announcement on cancer waits, which will require primary care trusts to pay for patients to have a private consultation if a specialist appointment cannot be provided within two weeks of referral from a GP.

“My concern about using the private sector is it may lead to more fragmentation of cancer when all evidence shows that what we need is a joined-up system where all parts of the service are working well together for the patients,” he said. “There are many more problems that need to be addressed.”

The new cancer waits measure is only expected to affect a few hundred patients, as nearly all NHS trusts in England meet the deadline already. However, the principle of involving the private sector in acute treatment is regarded as a major change of approach.

It is likely to be portrayed as a climb-down by opposition parties, as the Prime Minister previously fought against less drastic Blairite reforms to public services. The idea bears similarities to the “Patient's Passport” policy dropped by the Tories after the last general election.

Mr Brown is publishing Building Britain's Future today as he seeks to regain the initiative after dire polls and leadership speculation. He will promise to strip away top-down targets in favour of “entitlements” for people using services.

Harpal Kumar, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said that as most NHS trusts in England already meet the two-week deadline, the Government could have a greater impact on cancer survival if they focused their energy on improving early detection.

Other issues to be discussed this week at the BMA conference include whether doctors should have the right to discuss religion with patients and to pray for them,

Last year nurse Caroline Petrie, from Weston-super-Mare, Somerset faced disciplinary action after a patient complained that she had offered to pray for her. The primary care trust later agreed that she could continue to pray for patients as long as she asked first them if they had any spiritual needs.

Campaigners have complained that more staff may find themselves in trouble if their religious beliefs come into conflict with the guidelines set out in a document called Religion or Belief: A Practical Guide for the NHS.

The document states: "Members of some religions... are expected to preach and to try to convert other people. In a workplace environment this can cause many problems, as non-religious people and those from other religions or beliefs could feel harassed and intimidated by this behaviour.

"To avoid misunderstandings and complaints on this issue, it should be made clear to everyone from the first day of training and/or employment, and regularly restated, that such behaviour, notwithstanding religious beliefs, could be construed as harassment under the disciplinary and grievance procedures."

A Department of Health spokesman said the document was a guide to encourage awareness for staff and patients.

The BMA conference will discuss on Wednesday a motion which says that while the document’s “constructive and necessary advice” is welcome, some paragraphs suggest that any discussion of spiritual matters with patients or colleagues could lead to disciplinary action. The meeting will also discuss whether it believes that offering to pray for a patient should not be grounds for suspension.

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