THE future of health services has been put at the forefront of the General Election as the battle to be Harrow's MPs enters the final week.

Andrew Lansley, shadow health secretary, toured Northwick Park Hospital on Thursday and promised to cut away unnecessary targets and levels of bureaucracy if the Tories take power.

He said: “We are going to get rid of the politically driven targets, some of the process targets that are not needed.

“Clearly some have justification, but targets have got to be about measuring the quality of what is done without endless distractions and bureaucracy.”

After viewing Harrow's main hospital and speaking to doctors and nurses, Mr Lansley said he was impressed with the work going on but acknowledged the hospital buildings are in need of significant investment including £20m of urgent maintenance repairs.

The shadow minister was joined on his visit by Tory hopefuls in Harrow Bob Blackman and Rachel Joyce, who have campaigned hard on the Conservative pledge to increase NHS funding in every year of the next Parliament if they take power.

Mr Blackman, who is standing in Harrow East against Labour's Tony McNulty, said: “They are trying to create in people's minds a dread of a Conservative government but the reality is we are going to sort out the financial mess they have create.

“We are going to get rid of some of the nonsensical targets - we want sensible performance measures rather than the plethora of targets we have that don't make sense.”

The Tories have accused Labour of planning to cut spending on the NHS, but Tony McNulty hit back that the Conservatives were “scaremongering”.

In a surprise visit to Harrow yesterday, former Prime Minister Tony Blair visit the Alexandra Avenue Health and Social Care Centre in Rayners Lane to boost Labour's election campaign.

He insisted Labour still had “every chance” of victory on May 6, and said there was a clear choice for voters between investment in health facilities, such as the polyclinic he was at, and Tory cuts to public spending.