NHS sounds compensation alarm after £120,000 lawyer bill for £5,000 claim

By The Guardian

NHS Litigation Authority says a third of £1.1bn paid out last year went to lawyers and that government legal aid reforms have led to rising costs

Conservative party pledges extra £8bn a year for NHS

By The Guardian

George Osborne has moved to address concerns that the Tories have abandoned compassionate Conservatism by pledging to protect the “precious” NHS with a guarantee of an £8bn increase in spending per year above inflation by 2020.

In a week that has seen signs of a slip in Tory poll ratings and claims that the Conservative party is running a highly personalised campaign against Labour leader Ed Miliband, the chancellor has moved to issue an “absolute commitment” to deliver the resources required by the NHS.

Writing in the Guardian, the chancellor claims the Conservatives will pledge in their general election manifesto, to be launched next week, to meet a £30bn per year funding gap by the end of the decade identified by Simon Stevens, the chief executive of NHS England.