The independent King's Fund think-tank states that the NHS in England has improved significantly since 1997 meaning faster treatment and easier patient access to services.

Labour's record in tackling obesity, smoking, alcohol and drug abuse, cited in the report, was however criticized by Tory shadow health spokesman Andrew Lansley.

If the NHS was not to be bankrupted then according to Lib Dem spokesman Norman Lamb more preventative health spending was needed.

The report however found that although cancer survival rates were improving but still lagged behind Europe and the health gap between rich and poor was as wide.

The report stated that patients in 1997 faced long waiting lists for care and the health service was suffering from chronic under funding. It was then that an extraordinary rise in NHS funding was seen and the rise was doubled since
1997.

Andy Burnham, Secretary of State for Health, said, “The NHS was in a strong position to deal with future demands. The challenge of the last decade was one of expanding capacity so the NHS could finally remove the long waits and give people access but we would accept that the big challenge going forward is to get more from this expanded more resilient NHS."