Ring-fencing of NHS budget ‘should end’

Former defence secretary Liam Fox has called for an end to the automatic ring-fencing of the NHS budget.

Increased spending on health was one of the main promises in David Cameron's 2010 election, but Dr Fox believes the idea that "throwing money" at the service "will make it better" had been "tested to destruction" and it was time for a rethink.

The former GP resigned from his ministerial post in 2011, but remains a popular figure on the right of the Conservative party.

He told the Times: "We've become obsessed with throughput and not outcomes and that has been hugely to the detriment of the patients in our system," adding that anyone who has worked in or around the NHS knows how much waste is associated with the service.

Dr Fox explained that the focus should be on patients rather than the NHS as an entity.