Conservative proposals to introduce a voucher system to boost spending on private health care and cut NHS waiting lists would benefit the wealthy, medical organisations said yesterday.

Gill Morgan, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: "There needs to be careful thinking to ensure that patient choice is a reality for all patients."

Steve Dewar, of health policy think tank the Kings Fund, said: "The relatively wealthy are more likely to use the NHS passport, which will take resources out of the public system and leave a reduced service for the rest."