THE Conservative candidate for Warrington North has again raised his ‘fears’ for the NHS if Labour tops the General Election in May.

Richard Short discussed the effects of cuts to the service with chairman of health body Warrington CCG, Dr Andrew Davies, earlier this month, where possible solutions were considered.

But Mr Short believes the chance to turn plans to improve the NHS into a reality lie firmly with which party is announced into power.

“The truth is that only the Conservatives promised to protect NHS spending and that promise has been kept, despite being told we were irresponsible for doing so by Labour's Andy Burnham,” he said.

“Protection of the budget and putting healthcare back into the hands of healthcare professionals has meant we are better able to keep up with medical advances and increasing costs of complex healthcare.

“I genuinely fear Labour having control of the NHS – Labour presided over the worst and most dangerous scandals while cutting services across the board.

“The facts speak for themselves, with extra funding, handing control back to the professionals and putting the patient ahead of bureaucracy, the Conservatives have a proven record of delivering on the NHS.”

Mr Short also highlighted the need to cut costs across the service, to allow other areas to benefit.

"With savings made on management and the back room, there is more to spend on increasing the number of health visitors, community nurses and midwives,” he added.