Patient groups call for urgent government action

The group, which represents around 200 charities, issued a statement as it became clear there would be no majority party.

Chief executive Jeremy Taylor said: “Now the election is over, the challenges facing health and social care must be tackled with urgency.

“National Voices looks forward to working with the new government to put people at the heart of health and social care.”

The statement said: “Politicians need to be honest about the scale of the financial challenge in the NHS and what it will mean for services.”

It also called for new methods for communities to be involved in service change; patients to have greater control over their own care; and reform of social care to be addressed quickly.

National Voices and its members, which include Cancer Research UK and the Stroke Association, have recently said they would back large-scale service change, potentially including hospital closure, where it is good for care and patients are involved.