Brown defends NHS finance allocation

The chancellor, Gordon Brown, has reacted to claims from the Conservative Party that the NHS was not mentioned in yesterday’s Budget announcement.

Speaking on GMTV, Mr Brown rejected the idea that the NHS had been ignored during the Budget, saying that the funding for the NHS had been mentioned before yesterday’s statement and that he didn’t feel it needed restating.

“When we talk about deficits faced by some trusts, most organisations in the NHS are getting more money next year and more money the year after,” he said, on the television programme.

Health services in Britain would receive a total of ?12 billion over the next two financial years, he said, with ?6 billion being allocated to the health trusts each year.

The chancellor also pointed to the need for the NHS to modernise and introduce treatments to improve operational procedures and funding use.

“We want the NHS to bring in the most modern treatments as soon as possible so we have got to have the most efficient use of resources,” he said to GMTV.

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