Health Secretary Andrew Lansley spent last night trying to persuade peers to back the bill.
He did so after Lords Owen and Hennessey tabled an amendment calling for parts of the bill to be sent to a special select committee for further scrutiny.
If voted through, this could lead to the fall of the contentious bill, which puts GPs in control of much of the health service budget
.
The amendment has received widespread support ahead of the vote, including the backing of the RCM.
But just before the debate began yesterday, junior health minister Earl Howe sent a letter to peers rallying against the amendment.
It said he has been in discussions with Lord Owen, but they have not reached an agreement on how the bill could pass through the house.
It continued: ‘This potential for slippage in the timetable carries grave implications for the government’s ability to achieve royal assent for the bill by the end of the session. The bill cannot be carried over from this session to the next.
‘The House must have proper time to examine the bill, but the proposal put forward by Lord Owen could result in delay, which could well prove fatal to it. This is not a risk that I believe this House should take.’
However, Lord Owen said he fears that, if passed, the bill would lead to an ‘external market, a pure market’ and that healthcare is ‘not a public utility’.
If enough Lib Dems and crossbenchers vote for the amendment, the bill would be put on ice for two months while key sections are analysed.
This would mean it fails to gain the Royal Assent – which is needed for the bill to become law – by the end of this parliamentary session.
There is also an amendment from Labour to have the bill withdrawn altogether, which will also be voted on today.
Mr Lansley appeared before the Commons health select committee yesterday, where he claimed that health workers are behind his reforms.
He did so just hours after a letter, signed by numerous health professionals, including RCM general secretary Cathy Warwick, was published in the
Independent newspaper.
It states: ‘A serious number of Liberal Democrat, Labour and crossbench peers want to amend the Bill to remove the concerns so many significant bodies and individuals hold.
‘We, the undersigned, call for the suspension of or significant amendment of the Bill so it can be supported by most of the medical profession and the British people, who pay for, support and service our great NHS.’
