Doctors meeting in Edinburgh today attacked the 'privatisation' of the NHS and called for the service to follow Scotland's lead.

Doctors attending the British Medical Association's (BMA's) annual conference in Edinburgh heard association chairman Hamish Meldrum attack the "market economy" in healthcare and demand the service in England follows what is being done north of the border.

Dr Meldrum said the NHS in England should follow administrations in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales which have said they are "committed to ensuring that the NHS remains a public service of which our citizens can be justifiably proud".

Dr Meldrum said: "Let's stop diverting doctors' energies into unholy bidding wars for jobs and contracts that they already do. Let's follow the Celtic lead and get rid of the market in healthcare once and for all.

"The BMA wants to see an NHS untarnished by a market economy, true to its beginnings, giving the public a fair, caring, equitable and cost-effective health service.

"Not a service run like a shoddy supermarket war.

"Let's stop pretending that healing the sick is like trading a commodity."

Doctors also voted against private firms having a role in commissioning NHS services.

Dr Chaand Nagpaul, a GP in London, said: "What's really objectionable is the insult that these organisations have commissioning expertise relevant to the NHS.

"Most have zero commitment or loyalty to the ethos of the NHS. What experience has Humana or Bupa in identifying population health needs?

"They're not driven by a public health perspective, they've probably never thought about, let alone been able to address, health inequalities."

James Fothergill, head of public services policy at the CBI, which represents private firms, said today: "The BMA is misguided in its attack on the strategic use of the private sector to deliver healthcare to the NHS.

"Evidence shows that in England, where reforms have been more radical, the NHS has delivered significantly better outcomes than in Scotland, where reforms have been held back.

"A recent report by the Healthcare Commission said that competition, or the possibility of it, to provide NHS care has led to improved services in many areas.

"So restricting use of the private sector to the 'last resort' would not seem to be in the best interests of patients."