NHS needs billions more in funding, says outgoing boss

The outgoing boss of the NHS in England has warned that the organisation is need of billions of pounds of extra funding in order to push through "painful and unprecedented" changes in the next parliament.

In an interview with The Guardian, Sir David Nicholson - who steps down at the end of the month - said that without the money the NHS will struggle to survive on recent austerity-driven budgets.

Sir David is calling for a "change fund" on top of the health service's annual £110 billion budget to help pay for its reformation.

The industry-wide changes required would be "huge, massive (and) unprecedented", he said, and would be "painful for staff" and difficult for the public to accept.

But without them future NHS leaders would preside over a "managed decline".