NHS: scale of the challenge

More patients, and in particular more elderly patients, mean demand for NHS services in England is on the rise.

During the last parliament the population of England will have increased by 1.65 million people, a rise of 3% according to analysis by the Health Foundation.

The number of over-65s will be up by 10.7% in the same period, and NHS spending on retired households is nearly double spending on non-retired households.

Looking into the future, even if funding for the service rises in line with inflation there's projected to be a £30 billion gap in funding which must be made up with a combination of efficiency savings and funding on top of inflation.