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The NHS is facing a "significant current financial problem" which politicians are not highlighting in the election campaign, says the former head of the service in England.

Sir David Nicholson, who ran the NHS in England for eight years before retiring last year, told Today the NHS in England was accruing large deficits which would become clear later this year.

He also cast doubt on whether the NHS could deliver the next five-year round of planned efficiency savings. He said the efficiency targets were only really theoretical.

"There is a serious short-term financial problem to solve here," he said.