HEALTH Secretary Andrew Lansley last night apologised to nurses for failing to communicate his plans for the NHS to health workers.

His apology followed an unprecedented vote of no confidence at the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) conference in Liverpool.

Mr Lansley did not address the conference, but held a discussion with a group of 65 nurses, including four from the North-East.

He said sorry four times, adding that he wanted to strengthen the NHS.

“I would be joining you in voting against me if I thought the product of what I was doing was to undermine the NHS,” he said.

Asked how he felt about being the only health secretary to receive a vote of no confidence from nurses, he said: “I think it’s a rebuke.”

But Dr Stewart Findlay, from Bishop Auckland, who leads the County Durham and Darlington Pathfinder GP consortium, said Mr Lansley’s reforms had been misunderstood.

He said people needed to understand the “huge advantages”

to be gained in putting doctors in charge of commissioning care.

He said: “We know that things are not as good as they can be. Putting doctors in charge is a way to remedy a lot of these problems.”

Nurses voted nearly 99 per cent in favour of a motion of no confidence in his management of the reforms. There were 478 votes in favour, six against and 13 abstentions.

Angry delegates said Mr Lansley’s plans would ruin the NHS and lead to worse patient care.

Last night, Estephanie Dunn, operational manager for the RCN Northern Region, said: “The Government should now be in no doubt about the strength of feeling regarding these potentially disastrous proposals for the NHS.

“We are looking at a situation where the NHS will in future just be a franchise – a brand that is delivered on the cheap by any willing provider.

“Our region is already getting a taste of what it will look like – nurses facing redundancy, a poorer quality service for patients, and pay and conditions run into the ground.”

She added: “Morale is at rock-bottom. Nurses are incredibly dedicated professionals, and will not have voted for this motion lightly. I really hope that the coalition starts to listen to what the clinical professionals at the heart of the NHS are saying.

“The NHS is not just another business that can be run to make a profit”.

Mr Lansley said he believed there was a shared objective in ensuring an NHS free at the point of use and a comprehensive, high-quality service.

He said: “My view is that we are working together to support these principles and if we have not got that right, we will do so with your help.

“I believe in the NHS. If there is an ideology in what I am doing, it is a belief in the NHS.”

Mr Lansley said he had always wanted to hear more from nurses about their views on the reforms. He said: “I know that nurses are not only the largest healthcare profession, but are responsible for the delivery of most healthcare and are often in the best place to be able to see the whole pathway of care. If I have not got that message across, then I apologise.”

The Government said it would listen to concerns.

Other unions, including the British Medical Association, have condemned parts of the Bill, as have patient groups, royal colleges and MPs from various political parties.

Middlesbrough South Labour MP Tom Blenkinsop said Mr Lansley should do the “honourable thing” and quit.

Dr Clive Peedell, a cancer specialist at The James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, and a leading campaigner against the reforms, said: “This vote is a tremendous indictment of his leadership.

Things are getting worse for him and he is in significant trouble with his reforms.”