NHS 'faces £6bn funds shortfall'
An ageing population and inflation-busting health costs will leave the NHS around £6bn a year short despite government promises on funding, a leading think-tank said.
Chancellor George Osborne said the health service budget would rise by 0.1 per cent a year in real terms over the next four years.
But King's Fund chief economist John Appleby warned that would be more than wiped out by rising cost of drugs and medical technology. With more elderly, the NHS actually faced a one per cent -a-year spending cut.