Tony Blair is preparing to reassure voters that Labour will solve the National Health Service's problems following heavy criticism of his government's health record.

In an interview with the BBC's Breakfast with Frost programme, he is expected to say that the government will continue modernising the health service to cure its ills.

The prime minister will say that although the health service has problems, Labour is the only party which can fix them.

The government has been criticised by politicians, health professionals and the public after the NHS was put under severe strain by an outbreak of winter flu.

A series of high profile cases have exposed weaknesses in the system.

Thousands of people had their operations cancelled as hospitals scrapped routine surgery to cope with a flood of emergency admissions, caused partly by the flu outbreak.

Patient Mavis Skeet, 74, was to have had surgery for cancer of the oesophagus at Leeds General Infirmary, but the operation was cancelled several times, and the condition is now inoperable.

Another patient at Bedford Hospital, Doris Brown, had surgery for the same illness cancelled seven times and was finally operated on this week.

Her daughter Jo Brown said: "I didn't realise that getting an ITU bed was a bit like the National Lottery, I thought that you got a bed based on your clinical need and not just the luck of the draw."

On Saturday, the Intensive Care Society, which represents doctors and nurses, demanded evidence of the 100 extra beds promised by the government to help the NHS cope with winter pressures.

It came just a day after fertility expert and Labour peer Lord Winston called for "substantially more resources" for the NHS.

NHS chief executive Sir Alan Langlands has admitted the flu crisis has put the service under strain. But he said that overall there had been "extra capacity" in the service over winter.

Bed shortages

Mr Blair's Sunday morning interview comes just hours after the Department of Health denied sitting on a report on NHS bed shortages, which was due for publication last year.

According to The Independent on Sunday, the National Beds Enquiry ordered by former Health Secretary Frank Dobson called for a significant increase in beds for the seriously ill.

A Department of Health spokeswoman said new data released in December was being incorporated in the report.

"We are not holding back any report. It's out shortly when work is completed," she said.