Charles Kennedy has promised to do more to help doctors and nurses deliver top quality local health services.

Setting out his party's key policies on Monday, the Liberal Democrat leader attacked the government's use of Whitehall-driven targets in the NHS.

And he questioned whether the Conservatives were committed to retaining a health service free at the point of use.

Kennedy acknowledged that the government was now delivering the level of health investment his party had long called for.

And he pledged the Lib Dems would ensure the investment was sustained, with more doctors and nurses.

"But we can and we will spend that money differently," he told journalists.

The Lib Dem leader promised swifter diagnosis, free eye and dental checks, and lower prescription charges.

There would also be better care for people with terminal diseases and free personal care for the elderly.

And an individual "health MOT" would put the emphasis on prevention rather than cure, the party pledged.

"All of these policies are funded properly... the costs add up," Kennedy said.

"Now in delivering all of this the principles of the National Health Service are as relevant as they were on those days of its first service, a universal service... based on need not what a person can afford and free at the point of delivery."

Local services

Kennedy said he would reject the current system of political targets which was distorting the priority of local hospitals.

"We trust the professionals to use their professional judgement," he said.

The party would allow doctors and nurses to spend time on the wards rather than chasing Whitehall targets, he said.

And Kennedy also put the emphasis on quality local services rather than the extended choice models favoured by Labour and the Conservatives.

He would let frontline staff "get on with the job of treating patients".

"Now that is the real alternative to what has become Labour's mirco-managed health service," he said.

Kennedy also warned that Tory policies would undermine NHS capacity.

He said the Tories were intent on "privatising healthcare".

"Subsidising private operations for those who can already afford them is a policy to be sure, but it is a policy for the few," Kennedy said.

"My fear is that despite their protestations the Conservatives don't actually believe in the founding principles of the NHS."