All care for the elderly in provided free by the NHS in Scotland, but in England and Wales personal care has to be paid for.

The initial 12 options were based on the results of a poll of more than 1,000 people conducted for the BBC by the polling company ICM.

Unpopular areas

Areas rated as a top priority by the fewest people included abolishing mixed sex wards; increasing access to alternative medicine; refurbishing hospitals; and fixing hospital appointments for the convenience of the patient.

There was also little support for the idea that the NHS should focus on using spare capacity in private hospitals to carry out NHS work. Some 63% of those surveyed said it should not be a priority.

Neither did the public think that health education campaigns should be a top priority.

Two-thirds of people surveyed said that extending the telephone helpline NHS Direct should not be a priority.

Six out of ten disagreed with the idea of prioritising access to NHS fertility treatment, and a massive 89% were opposed to prioritising the availability of cosmetic surgery on the NHS.

ICM carried out face-to-face interviews with 1,124 adults between 22 January and 3 February.

The interviews were conducted in 92 randomly selected parliamentary constituencies.