'Working class' to get £2bn of NHS 'waste'

MORE than £2 billion saved from “wasteful” NHS spending is to be diverted to “working class communities that need it most”, the Health Secretary will announce.

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Wes Streeting will use a speech in Blackpool today to set out how poorer communities will benefit from more medicines and equipment - and a bigger share of GP funding - under reforms in the upcoming NHS 10-year plan.

The Department of Health said NHS leaders have spent recent months driving cuts to NHS spending, such as on “back office” functions and agency staff, while reducing forecast deficits by health trusts.

Around £2.2 billion previously set aside to plug financial holes will now be spent on staff, medicines, new technology and equipment in rural communities, coastal towns and working-class regions, according to the department.