Paediatricians have today warned that children with chronic disease and disability "will particularly suffer" if NHS health reforms are to go ahead, as care will become "more fragmented".
In a letter published in medical journal, The Lancet, over 150 paediatricians and members of the UK's Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health have called on the Government to drop the controversial Health and Social Care Bill.
The letter warns that the changes outlined in the bill may lead to vulnerable children "slipping through the net" and treatment choices becoming limited.
The correspondence reads: "Care will become more fragmented, and families and clinicians will struggle to organise services for these children. Children with chronic disease and disability will particularly suffer, since most have more than one condition and need a range of different clinicians."
For full correspondence, read the full letter on the Lancet website (PDF).