Labour 'rushes out' key NHS report as Brown waits for polls verdict

The Prime Minister, who marked his 100th day in office today, was keeping up speculation by rushing out announcements on the NHS and Crossrail.

He is expected to make a decision on Sunday afternoon during a council of war with aides.

The first verdict of voters is due at 7pm tonight when a snap poll for Channel 4 News will reveal whether David Cameron achieved a bounce with his barnstorming Blackpool speech.

That will be followed by an ICM survey for tomorrow's Guardian, a Populus survey for Saturday's Times and a YouGov panel for the Telegraph and Sunday Times.

The polls will give the clearest indication yet of whether Mr Brown's recent lead of seven to 11 points has held firm and he is safe to call an election on November 1 or 8. A Conservative recovery could put his plans in jeopardy.

Labour MPs think the critical figure for calling an election is a lead of four points. Below that, they believe it becomes increasingly dangerous for Mr Brown. Bookmaker William Hill was today offering 2/7 that he will go ahead, and 5/2 against.

Mr Cameron unwittingly sparked the first poll on his party conference performance by mentioning two Facebook sites in his speech - one set up to support him and the other by opponents.

Both networks had a rush of new members after his speech - but the clear overnight winner was "Am I the only one who doesn't like David Cameron?" It had 955 members this morning - three times as many as before Mr Cameron's speech.

The supporters' network, "David Cameron is a hottie", was trailing with just 307 members, up from 74 yesterday.

will be published today amid accusations it was brought forward because of a possible snap election.

Health minister Lord Ara Darzi will use a key report on the future of the NHS to talk about greater access to GPs, hospital-acquired infections like MRSA and Clostridium difficile, innovation and quality.

He will say delivering the highest quality of care for everyone - as good as or better than any country in the world - must be a fundamental goal of the NHS.

Staff must also be given more influence to improve NHS services for local communities across England, he will say.

Lord Darzi will announce the creation of a Health Innovation Council together with up to £100 million of funding to help the NHS develop and introduce new medical devices and diagnostic services.

Speaking ahead of the launch, he said: "Over the last three months, I have spoken to patients, the public and NHS staff and received thousands of letters and emails to inform the review.

"This interim report is the result of my discussions and sets out a vision for the next phase of the NHS.

"This vision for the future should not be just mine - or the Government's - but a vision for the future of health and healthcare in England that is developed and owned by patients, staff and public together.

"This is not about imposing more change from the centre. Effective change needs to be led locally, driven by clinicians and others working in partnership across the service."

Lord Darzi will announce he is to become the Champion of Innovation, with the aim of tackling slow uptake of new technologies in some areas.

He will chair the new Health Innovation Council, which will include experts from the NHS, academia and industry.

Lord Darzi said: "I want to see the UK become a world-leader in pharmaceutical and medical technology research and development, so NHS patients have access to the best innovative treatments and services."

Campaigners and opposition MPs accused the Government of rushing out the report ahead of a widely-expected snap election.

Geoff Martin of campaign group Health Emergency said: "There is no way that in the few short months that Lord Darzi has been looking at the NHS that he could have examined the detail of the proposed local changes that are rumbling on and taken enough evidence from key players to form even an outline framework for the future.

"It appears that this report is being rushed out as part of a possible pre-election frenzy and is being lashed together on the grounds of political expediency rather than the long-term interests of patients.

"The idea that you can construct a programme for the future of the NHS in such a short time is unbelievable. This is just a clearing the decks exercise."

A spokesman for the Department of Health said the report had always been planned for release this month.

Liberal Democrat health spokesman, Norman Lamb, said: "Those working in the NHS will be sceptical of this latest report if it turns out to be nothing more than another political stunt ahead of a possible General Election.

"It has only been three months since Gordon Brown launched this review, promising to talk to those on the frontline in the health service.

"How much can he have listened while engineering all the talk about elections?" Shadow health secretary, Andrew Lansley, said: "Gordon Brown talks about personalised care in the NHS but his plan to close a number of A&E and maternity services around the country will distance care from the patients who need it.

"This is hypocrisy gone mad.

"Bringing forward Lord Darzi's findings so soon is yet another example of this Government using our NHS as a political football.

"How can NHS professionals feel confident and how can patients feel safe when they know that this report must have been cobbled together without consideration for clinical evidence?"

Both Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Health Secretary Alan Johnson used their party conference speeches to call for greater patient access to doctors outside of office hours.

The British Medical Association (BMA) has hit back, accusing the Government of using the media to attack GPs.

In July, Lord Darzi published a review of NHS services in London in which he recommended the creation of regional "polyclinics".

Some have expressed fears that his latest review could recommend similar moves for the rest of England.

Lord Darzi's full report will be published next summer