It is the right thing to do for patients

Alan Milburn, Health Secretary

Private nursing homes would also supply short-stay rehabilitation for those coming out of hospital.

The NHS would provide its own surgeons, anaesthetists and theatre assistants to carry out the treatment. Patients would not have to pay anything.

The use of private hospital space will be a major feature of the government's national plan for the NHS, due to be published at the end of July.

Health Secretary Alan Milburn told the BBC Today programme the initiative would allow the government to "win the war on waiting".

He said: "It is the right thing to do for patients.

"What we cannot have is some sort of artificial, ideological barrier denying NHS patients the treatment they need.

"We are seeking a concordat between the NHS and the private sector to see how we can best take advantage of any spare capacity that might exist in private sector hospitals."

Mr Milburn said there was a "world of difference" between the new plan and what the Conservatives were proposing - which was to "force people to pay for their own care".

Alan Milburn is due to talk plans over with government advisers

The Conservatives accused the Government of hypocrisy and claimed public spending on private healthcare had doubled since Labour came to power.

Shadow health secretary Dr Liam Fox said: "What a bunch of hypocrites. Every time the Conservative Party have called for a mixed economy in healthcare, the Government has attacked us.

"We have always believed that this would be good for patients. It is more important that patients are given quality treatment on time than where they are treated."

The plan has also angered some Labour backbenchers and health professionals, who fear it might undermine the fundamentals of the NHS.

What a bunch of hypocrites

Dr Liam Fox

John Austin, a Labour member of the Commons Health Select Committee, said: "My real fear is that once the state starts waving its cheque-book about, the private sector is there to grab the money.

"It is a short-term expediency and one can understand it in the short term, but if money is there to purchase beds in the private sector, why isn't it there to provide that level of care in the NHS?"

But the government is determined that the multi-billion-pound injection it is giving the NHS should be accompanied by more efficient working practices.

The deal could include a financial package which would make operations cheaper for the NHS than for private patients.

Over 100,000 free operations have been paid for in the private sector by the NHS since Labour came to power in 1997.

Mr Milburn was adamant that the health service could not have a repeat of previous winters, where outbreaks of influenza have stretched resources and lengthened waiting lists.

Dr Mac Armstrong, secretary of the British Medical Association said: "We have always called for the health service to use all available facilities.

"We are not opposed to anything that stops people suffering or waiting more than they need to before they are treated."

The Independent Healthcare Association (IHA) said it had been in negotiations with senior Department of Health officials for several months over the plans.

Barry Hassell, IHA chief executive, said: "It is only right that ministers would want to mobilise the independent health and social care sector's provision for the benefit of NHS patients.

"Not only does a commitment to partnership bring us into line with the rest of Europe, but most importantly it will impact positively on the lives of millions of people who rely on the NHS and social services for the funding of their health and social care."