Sir Simon Case, who stood down as Cabinet secretary in December, made the warning in his first major interview since leaving the job.

The scheme is expected to be expanded nationally to dozens of locations as part of a ten-year NHS plan to be published this summer.

The Met Office has forecasted heavy rain for St Helens on Saturday evening. Saturday, May 24, will start off overcast with light cloud cover in the morning, with temperatures ranging from 13C to 16C.