BED TO WORSE

PM announces 900 extra hospital places but Tories have cut 12,000, and with 112,000 NHS vacancies unfilled, who's going to staff them?

- BEN GLAZE, AMY SHARPE

THE Tories' latest NHS plans were slammed as a "sticking plaster" yesterday, as PM Rishi Sunak was accused of being out of touch.

Mr Sunak announced 900 extra hospital beds yesterday - but the health service has lost 12,000 in 13 years since the Tories came to power.

Returning from a holiday in Disneyland, California, the Prime Minister claimed the £250million plan is another step on the "journey to a better performing NHS, delivering better care".

The PM claimed: "These 900 new beds will mean more people can be treated quickly, speeding up flow through hospitals and reducing frustratingly long waits for treatment."

Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting accused the Government of saddling the NHS with "huge backlogs, unacceptable waiting times and an annual winter crisis". He said: "Now Rishi Sunak is offering a sticking plaster which comes nowhere near the 12,000 beds the Conservatives have cut.