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, and also to buy equipment and improve IT.

More than five million people are waiting for NHS hospital treatment in England, with hundreds of thousands waiting more than a year.

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 get seen closer to home.

These centres will help clear the backlog of tests by the end of this Parliament, the government said.

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.

There have been repeated warnings over the pressures they NHS in England is facing, with chronic staff shortages and a record numbers of people waiting for treatment, many of whom are in pain.

One report suggested England's waiting lists could rise to 14 million people by next autumn, as millions who did not come forward for treatment earlier in the pandemic decide to do so.

NHS Providers - which speaks for hospital and other NHS trusts - said the money will help, but added: "What we've got to make sure is we have the workforce in place to deliver the services.".

"This isn't just about waiting lists," said Saffron Cordery, NHS Providers deputy chief executive.

Meanwhile, a senior health chief has urged people 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 since the vaccination programme began administering them last month?