Health care cash to rise by £40m

The NHS in Gloucestershire is to receive an extra £40m to deliver health services in the county.

The county's primary care trust (PCT)said its budget was rising to £832m in the coming financial year.

Its priorities include tackling obesity and alcohol abuse and improving care for mental health and stroke patients.

The PCT's chief executive Jan Stubbings said that despite the cash increase, the trust still faced big challenges to improve the population's health.

"We've got to address our overall health problems," she said.

"We have an ageing population, we have obesity levels that need to be brought down and we have to help people give up smoking, it's one of the most important health improvement issues that people can address."