Responding to the chancellor's spending review 2020 announcement, NHS Providers chief executive Chris Hopson said:

"This is a constructive response to the challenges the NHS faces, given the overall public expenditure pressures.

"We welcome the extra £3bn of new money that will start to tackle the mounting planned care backlogs, provide extra mental health capacity to help address unprecedented levels of demand and extra capital for the new hospital building programme.

"What we don't know yet is whether it will be enough. It's impossible to work out what the total additional funding needs associated with COVID-19 might be for next year. The government should therefore continue to honour its promise to give the NHS whatever it needs to continue to manage the impact of the pandemic.

"But fundamentally the pandemic has brought into sharp relief the question about whether as a nation, with demand increasing, we are investing enough in our health and care system to provide the quality of care and support that is needed. That question has been overlooked for too long. It's time to recognise the true scale of the challenges we face, and the costs of dealing with them."