England's chief medical officer has defended the state of the NHS, saying it is not in crisis.
Sir Liam Donaldson, ahead of publishing his annual report, said the NHS was "very, very strong" compared to other healthcare systems around the world.
He applauded the quality of services, and the fact that becoming ill does not lead to financial ruin for patients as it can in other countries.
The NHS finished last year over £500m in deficit.
Speaking exclusively to the BBC before Friday's publication, Sir Liam said: "I don't agree that the NHS is in crisis. I think there's a very, very strong foundation."
As the UK representative on the World Health Organization and other bodies, he said: "I see healthcare systems around the world, and we have a very, very strong system.
"And high on the list of strengths, is the fact that people do not have to worry about their financial security when they become unhealthy."
Despite its strengths, Sir Liam added that the NHS "is a subject of constant debate".
"It's a political football. It's always going to be controversial, because people care so much about it.
"But I'm very, very confident that the quality of services we deliver - and my passion to make sure that we put health at the top of the agenda, not just healthcare - will eventually get us back to the position where we are regarded as the best in the world."
He warned that struggling NHS Trusts should avoid cutting public health programmes just to balance their budgets.
"We've had reports at local level that when hospitals have been in financial crisis there has been a tendency to use whatever budgets are available in order to restore them to financial balance.
"It's very important that we don't drain local public health budgets dry for that purpose, and that we sustain the funding for public health programmes - for smoking, for obesity, for sexual health - that are so vital to future health of our population, and to reducing future demands on the heath service."
Regarding patient safety, Sir Liam said the NHS could learn a lot from the airline industry about analysing incidents and reducing risk.
He said about one in 10 people who receive hospital care in the US, Australia and Britain undergo some sort of medical error.
"It may just be that their records get confused with another patient's but in some cases tragically it results in death.
"Rather than looking at harm and deaths that occur to patients as one off events, we should look at connections and similarities, the common causes, and use them as a source for learning and action just as the airline industry has done," Sir Liam said
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