Over a billion pounds of funding is set to be allocated to the NHS including in the North East with hopes of reducing waiting lists as the service remains in a "critical condition", it has been revealed.

South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust are set to benefit from the funding.

£1.5bn will be allocated for new surgical hubs and scanners, alongside £70 million for new radiotherapy machines, it has been confirmed, ahead of the budget on Wednesday (October 30).

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said: “Our NHS is the lifeblood of Britain. It exemplifies public services at their best, there for us when we need it and free at the point of use, for everyone in this country.

“That’s why I am putting an end to the neglect and underinvestment it has seen for over a decade now.

“We will be known as the government that took the NHS from its worst crisis in its history, got it back on its feet again and made it fit for the bright future ahead of it."

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting added: “Our NHS is broken, but it’s not beaten, and this Budget is the moment we start to fix it.

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“The Chancellor is backing the NHS with new investment to cut waiting lists, which stand at an unacceptable 7.6 million today.

“Alongside extra funding, we’re sending crack teams of top surgeons to hospitals across the country, to reform how they run their surgeries, treat more patients, and make the money go further.”

The government states that said funding will help deliver an extra 40,000 elective appointments a week as the NHS waiting list stood at 7.6 million people in August.