The NHS in England is to receive an extra £5.9bn in this week's Budget, the government has announced.
The money will be used to help clear the record backlog of people waiting for tests and scans, which has been worsened by the pandemic, and also to buy equipment and improve IT.
More details are due on Wednesday, but Chancellor Rishi Sunak called the money "game-changing".
Health bodies welcomed the cash, but said staff shortages need to be fixed.
The NHS is facing sustained pressure as it grapples with an unprecedented backlog of procedures put on hold due to the pandemic.
More than five million people are waiting for NHS hospital treatment in England, with hundreds of thousands waiting more than a year.
The £5.9bn, set to be officially announced in Wednesday's Budget and Spending Review, is on top of the £12bn a year that was announced in September.
That money is to be raised through tax increases - the rise in National Insurance and, from 2022, the Health and Social Care Levy - and will be spent on resources such as staffing.
This new money will be used to pay for infrastructure and equipment - not day-to-day spending.
Some of the £5.9bn - £2.3bn - will be used to fund a big expansion of diagnostic tests, for example through more CT, MRI and ultrasound scans, the government said.
That includes opening more community clinics for scans and tests - which the government had already announced - so people can be seen closer to home.
These centres will help clear the backlog of tests by the end of this Parliament, the government said.
Also included in the £5.9bn total is:
- £1.5bn to be spent on more beds, equipment and new "surgical hubs", each with four to five surgical theatres to tackle waiting times
- and £2.1bn to be spent on improving IT and digital technology within the NHS - for example, faster broadband.
As part of the UK's funding formula for the NHS, a proportionate amount will also go to the health services in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
"This is a game-changing investment in the NHS to make sure we have the right buildings, equipment and systems to get patients the help they need and make sure the NHS is fit for the future," said Mr Sunak.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the money will help deliver "millions more checks, scans and procedures for patients".
The aim is to clear, by the end of this Parliament, most of the existing huge backlog in non-urgent tests and procedures that developed during the pandemic.
The chancellor described the investment as game-changing.
But while health bodies have welcomed the extra money, they point to the persistent problems around staffing - extra scanners are no good if you don't have the trained staff to operate them and interpret the results.
And the pressures on the NHS - being seen right across the UK, in mental health services, community care and A&E departments - show no sign of easing.
Many will be looking closely at the details in Wednesday's Budget to see if further help is on the way.
Repeated warnings over the pressures the NHS in England highlight chronic staff shortages and record numbers of people waiting for treatment.
Waiting lists have grown as routine operations were cancelled throughout the pandemic and people who put off seeking help for symptoms come forward.
One report suggested England's waiting lists could rise to 14 million people by next autumn.
Staff shortages and infection-control measures also mean hospitals have fewer beds available.
Those working in the healthcare sector say they are grateful for the money - but many said it was not enough to keep up with costs and demand.
NHS Providers - which speaks for hospital and other NHS trusts - said the money will help, but warned the health service needed more staff to deliver services.
A body representing healthcare leaders, the NHS Confederation, said the funding "falls short of what is needed to get services completely back on track".
Booster invites
People are being urged to get their Covid-19 booster jab - as the NHS sends out a further two million invites this week.
NHS England said more than five million people have already been given the additional jab over the past month.
On Sunday, a further 39,962 coronavirus cases were recorded and 72 deaths within 28 days of a positive test.
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