“However, as expressed by the BMA, what’s been put on the table is a drop in the ocean and it cannot be the ceiling on our ambition. There are critical issues still facing our health service, and the department simply cannot adequately address them without looking at how the money going into the health service can be better spent overall.

“Patients and health staff alike deserve a system that works, and it should be a political imperative of all parties to help deliver that. Alliance has called for a cross-party compact on health and social care, and we would continue to urge others to join us at the table.”