Ed Miliband has claimed there is a fortnight to “rescue” the NHS as he accused David Cameron of being a “mortal danger” to the service.
The Labour leader pledged to take action to “save” it from day one of taking office with a rescue plan to boost funding and tackle a “crisis” in staffing.
An emergency round of nurse recruitment would be ordered immediately on taking power while plans to raise extra funding through a mansion tax and tobacco levy would form part of the party’s first budget.
Mr Miliband contrasted Labour’s promise of instant action paid for with “real money, right now” to what he claims is the unfunded Conservative pledge to find the £8 billion health chiefs say the service needs.
In a speech to students at Manchester Metropolitan University, Mr Miliband said: “For five years, the NHS has gone backwards.
“For the next five, if the Conservatives are returned to power, the NHS will be starved of funds, it will face a rising tide of privatisation.
“This is the truth. David Cameron is now a mortal danger to the NHS. We have a fortnight to fight for our NHS. We have a fortnight to rescue our NHS.
“That’s why the country needs Labour’s immediate rescue plan for the National Health Service.”
The attack is the latest in Labour’s week of intensive campaigning on the future of the NHS, which it claims is on “life support”.
It pointed to information uncovered using the Freedom of Information Act that shows around one third of NHS trusts were investigated last year over concerns about safe staffing.
Labour claims there have been more than 8,000 fewer nurses trained over the last five years than if 2010/11 levels had been maintained.
It says it would launch an immediate recruitment drive to put 1,000 extra nurses into training this year as part of its plan to increase numbers by 20,000 by 2020.
Universities would be instructed to reopen admissions for this year’s nursing courses, which were oversubscribed by 30,000.
Mr Miliband admitted there were problems with the “burden” of the cost of some of the private finance initiative-funded (PFI) new hospitals built under the last Labour government and said there was a need to get the arrangements right.
Labour previously turned to the private sector when the NHS could not provide the capacity needed but it should be the preferred provider in future, he told the students.
More services must be integrated but Labour would not carry out a top-down reorganisation of the health service.
Mr Miliband said: “In our first 100 days, our first Budget, our first year in office, we’ll begin to bring in funds from the mansion tax and tobacco levy.
“And we will use that money to support the NHS with our immediate rescue plan.
“An emergency round of nurse recruitment. Funding for 1,000 extra training places this year. Getting extra resources into the NHS right from the very start.
“First things first, the next Labour government will start by saving the NHS.”