The Government unveiled its revolution for the health service yesterday - the most far-reaching reforms since the NHS was founded more than 50 years ago.

Central to the ten-year blueprint is a massive increase in staff numbers, with an extra 20,000 nurses, 7,500 consultants, 2,000 GPs and 6,750 other NHS staff.

But doctors' leaders disputed the claimed workforce boost, saying thousands of the consultants and GPs were already in the pipeline before the plan was announced.

Doctors also signalled that they would fight plans to overhaul their contracts and restrict the amount of private work they can do.

NHS staff in the North-East broadly welcomed the plan but there was criticism of the extra burden placed on staff by the Prime Minister's ambitious target-setting.

The 144-page blueprint for the NHS in England was presented in the Commons by Tony Blair.

He told MPs: "The challenge is to make the NHS once again the health care system the world most envies."

The proposals include regular checks on doctors to weed out rogue practitioners, such as North Yorkshire gynaecologist Richard Neale, who was struck off for professional misconduct earlier this week. The plan includes pledges for:

l 100 new hospital schemes, 7,000 extra beds, 500 one-stop primary care centres combining GP, dental and other health services.

l A maximum six-month waiting time for NHS hospital treatment by 2005, and a maximum three-month wait for an outpatient appointment.

l A guarantee that patients will be able to see a GP within two days of asking for an appointment by 2005.

l "Modern day matrons" to run hospital wards and a new nurse grade of "consultant therapist" to bridge gaps between doctors and nurses.

l Tough new performance targets for hospitals which will be linked to extra cash. Those which fail will be taken over and run by special hit squads.

l Free nursing care for elderly people in homes, though they will still have to pay for personal care.

Health Secretary Alan Milburn said: "For the first time, the Government has faced up to the breadth and depth of problems in the NHS and has addressed them all in turn.

"From the state of wards to the doctor's contract, not one issue has been ducked.

"By being honest in our analysis of the problems we have been able to produce the most radical of reforms."

But claims that the plan, drawn up in the last four months by six committees, will deliver a huge boost in staff numbers were disputed.

The British Medical Association said an extra 1,000 GPs were already expected in the health service by 2005, and an extra 4,500 consultants were already expected.

Shadow Health Secretary Dr Liam Fox said the plan was full of half-truths. "Unforgivably, Tony Blair has put his own political survival before the survival of patients," he said.

The reaction from patients groups, NHS managers, charities and doctors was generally favourable. A spokesman for the Patients' Association said: "The proof of the pudding will be in the eating."

Nigel Edwards, policy director of the NHS Confederation, which represents health authorities, said: "The Government has been brave to address head-on the really difficult problems facing the NHS.

"This makes it truly radical and presents NHS staff, particularly its managers, with a huge change agenda."

Barrie Fisher, chief executive of North Yorkshire Health Authority said: "It is a very ambitious agenda.

"Over time we will probably find that more resources will be needed, including better management."

Heart specialist Dr Jim Hall, a consultant cardiologist at South Cleveland Hospital, said the continued support for an expansion in heart facilities in line with The Northern Echo's A Chance To Live campaign was "very welcome".

In the Commons, Mr Blair taunted William Hague with a list of recent NHS investments in the Tory leader's Richmond constituency.

Mr Blair boasted of "the £3.3m scheme for the conversion of the Friary in Richmond to a community hospital and primary care centre". There had also been a "£600,000 for Northallerton Health Services' accident and emergency, £500,000 for intensive care beds and £180,000 for out-patient modernisation".

A Tory spokesman last night pointed out that the Prime Minister had failed to mention the closure of Catterick's Duchess of Kent military hospital which had provided NHS services.

Putting the heart back

in the NHS - Page 5