TOP Tory, shadow chancellor Oliver Letwin, has said his party's plans for the NHS would let health chiefs in Worcestershire tackle their £25m debt mountain.

Mr Letwin made the claim during a visit to Worcestershire Royal Hospital yesterday.

He spoke to orthopaedic patients recovering in Hazel Ward and listened to how bosses at the hospital are tackling virulent "superbugs" like MRSA.

He dismissed claims from city MP Mike Foster that Tory budget plans would mean £1bn less for the NHS in the county and backed the "unremitting hard work" work by Conservative candidate Margaret Harper.

Speaking exclusively to the Evening News, Mr Letwin said the Tories would implement a "colossal expansion" of NHS spending that would allow health bosses to move figures out of the red.

"Those kinds of things ought to be able to be addressed because we have provided enough to add about £34bn a year to the health service budget by the end of the next Parliament," he said.

"We're also planning to reduce significantly the scope of the various obstructions above hospital level to allow them to be freer to run their own affairs.

"And by allowing patients to make their own choice, it reduces the burdens and allows hospitals to put their financial affairs in order."

He said his visit was a sign of how seriously the Conservatives are focusing on Mr Foster's seat. Worcester was a safe Tory seat for decades until Foster won it for Labour in 1997.

"The level of involvement and effort now being demonstrated by candidates in target seats is quite different from what we've seen in other elections," he added.

"We've got a real message to get across, that we are determined to provide real first class public services - we are investing in that but thinning down the vast bureaucracy."

Mrs Harper, who has been a WRVS volunteer at the hospital for the past two months, said Mr Letwin was impressed by the work being done at the Royal on infection control.

"They are making in-roads and our policies will help that," she said.