Malcolm Chisholm: Commitment to health spending

But in a special NHS Day programme on BBC One on Wednesday, the prime minister ruled out going down the Scottish route.

Tony Blair said �1bn would be put into the health service in the next three years to help elderly people stay independent in their homes.

His promise of NHS investment won support from Scottish Health Minister Malcolm Chisholm who said Mr Blair had offered a "restatement of the founding principles of the NHS".

He said: " Mr Blair believes that people are willing to pay more for the health service and people in Scotland share that view."

Mr Chisholm told Newsnight Scotland that the Scottish Executive, which has devolved powers for health, was "already putting extra, significant resources into the health service".

'Little in terms of substance'

He said there were no plans to use the Scottish Parliament's tax raising powers to increase health service investment.

Scottish National Party health spokeswoman Nicola Sturgeon said she welcomed the prime minister's "admission that all was not well in the health service".

"But there was very little in terms of substance about how the health service can be put right," she said.

The poll was conducted for NHS Day

"For example, we've lost, since Labour came to power 600, acute beds. The basic problem is that the health service has become too small."

She challenged the health minister to "stop sanctioning bed reductions".

Scottish Tory spokeswoman Mary Scanlon said Scotland has been spending 20% more than elsewhere in the UK on health and work should be done on better targeting of the money.

She said: Should we not be targeting spending the money better, ensuring that we have a joined up NHS in Scotland?

"Eleven per cent of our beds are taken up with hospital acquired infections and over 3,000 beds are blocked because councils say they have no money for care in the community."