大象传媒

The Conservatives say that if they form the next Government they will spend at least eight billion pounds a year more after inflation on the NHS by 2020.

The new pledge follows analysis by the head of NHS England Simon Stevens last year which said the Government would need to find that amount to help bridge a funding gap caused by rapidly increasing demand for healthcare.

Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for Health, says continued economic prosperity under a Tory government would fund increased NHS spending.

He told Today "if you look at the last five years we actually inherited an economy that was contracting, we鈥檝e actually been able to put in real terms more than seven billion pounds of extra funding into the NHS on an annual basis so we鈥檙e saying we are absolutely confident that we can put about the same again鈥�.