An overwhelming majority of doctors have seen no improvement in the NHS, despite the extra government spending on health, the British Medical Association said yesterday.

Funds are being used on national programmes to meet an excessive number of centrally imposed targets and was not reaching "the frontline of healthcare", said BMA chairman Ian Bogle.

A survey of members found that 83 per cent of GPs and 81 per cent of consultants could see no noticeable effect from the increases in NHS spending.