Conservatives pledge to slash 'wasteful spending' in NHS
October 9, 2009
Money can be redirected to aid doctors and nurses, according to the shadow health secretary.
Plans to reduce NHS bureaucracy costs by a third have been announced by the Conservatives.
Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley stated a determination to divert funds from back offices to nurses and doctors, should the party win power at next year's general election. He blamed the Labour government for allowing "wasteful spending" on health services to get out of control, pledging to ensure money is redirected to where it is needed.
"Labour have made expensive commitments on the NHS with no price tag; in contrast we are determined to identify how we will save money before we spend it," said Mr Lansley.
Under the proposal, the annual cost of bureaucracy to the NHS is to be cut from £4.5 billion to £3 billion by 2013-14. Mr Lansley recently criticised health secretary Andy Burnham over his speech at the Labour Party conference, suggesting it lacked the ambition necessary to help the NHS meet future challenges.