Miliband accuses Cameron of making NHS worse

The Labour leader launched salvos on cancer treatment, accident and emergency waiting times and trollies in the leaders’ weekly Commons joust.

But the Prime Minister highlighted improving statistics and a report dubbing the NHS the best health service in the world.

Mr Miliband said: “You can’t answer basic questions about your own targets in the NHS – I can tell you the number of people waiting on trolleys for more than four hours has gone up from 61,000 to 167,000 on your watch.

“You promised the reorganisation in the NHS would make things better – it’s made things worse. Worse on access to cancer treatment, worse on A&E waits, worse on GP access, the NHS is getting worse on your watch.

“And there’s only one person to blame and it’s you.”

Mr Cameron replied: “Honestly, if you can’t do better than that even on the NHS, you really are in trouble.

“What’s happening under this Government is millions more patients treated, a cancer drugs fund for the first time ever, our health service ranked officially the best in the world.

“And we know what you would do because we have heard from the director of policy, who said this: ‘There will be no interesting ideas that will emerge from Labour’s policy review’. That is official.

“Then your guru, Lord Glasman, said you have absolutely no vision.

“Yesterday, you misquoted statistics and got them completely wrong, and the factory you spoke in, the managing director said Labour’s policy would be a bureaucratic nightmare.”

And in a quip aimed at Labour backbenchers, he added: “I would say to the people looking behind you – cheer up folks, it’s only Wednesday.”