Health department admits to NHS funding crisis

Britain's new Labour government has inherited a looming financial crisis in the NHS, with the Department of Health predicting that some parts of the service are on the brink of collapse.

Internal briefings prepared for the new health secretary, Frank Dobson, point to a shortfall in current funding so serious that it will have to be addressed by the Cabinet in the context of the summer Budget being prepared by the chancellor of the exchequer, Gordon Brown.

This could …