Commenting on the report by Monitor following its review of the "fair playing field", chief executive of the NHS Partners Network David Worskett said:

"Monitor is right to have focused its attention on factors which impact on quality of patient care rather than the interests of any particular sector of the healthcare system. What is best for patients must always be our guide.

"In the 'new' NHS, post 1 April 2013, clinical commissioners will be in the driving seat. In this well-considered, well-balanced report, Monitor has rightly identified the importance of commissioners of NHS-funded services ensuring the way is open to innovation and new providers.

"The NHS Partners Network has consistently argued there is a real need to address both the economic and the behavioural aspects which currently cause significant distortions to a 'fair playing field' and we are therefore pleased that these issues have been fully recognised by the new regulator. We now look forward to seeing how Monitor plans to take these findings forward in practice, so that patients benefit sooner rather than later.

"This report also reveals a worrying lack of priority for using a fair playing field to widen real patient choice, which needs to be a central element in the new NHS. Monitor also appears not fully to understand the basis of the independent sector's clinical mix of services, which stems not from "cherry picking" but from only being allowed to offer a limited range of  procedures, which itself then creates other competitive disadvantages."

Notes to Editors