The NHS needs fewer Government-imposed targets and more trust in its employees according to the Conservative party's leader, speaking during a visit to Airedale Hospital last Thursday.

David Cameron - who spent half the day talking to staff and patients - said Airedale's example refuted Government arguments that district general hospitals should be phased out.

"This is an incredibly successful, popular local hospital," he said.

"The Government thinks that the District Generals are dead but, in fact, these hospitals are adapting to the needs of a changing population. They've got a really strong future."

He argued that Labour should abandon the idea that improving health care automatically involved centralisation and closing down smaller facilities.

He added: "I think that a free NHS, available to all, is a very important part of British culture and our heritage.

"Of course, it might not have everything that everyone wants.

"But the problem is not all about money. What it needs is less mismanagement and less top-down interference."

Mr Cameron, who last visited Keighley district in April 2007, said he understood Airedale Hospital was now in better financial shape, having achieved a budget surplus for the first time in five years.

He said he was impressed by the fact that more than 300 people carried out voluntary work at Airedale and noted that patients were keen on the hospital's food.

He said Government targets imposed on the patient care process should be replaced with more important indicators, such as patient survival rates.

"Patients want to know that the health care is as good in Britain as it is in Germany and France," he said.

"Survival rates are more important than measuring the exact process by which they've been achieved."

He acknowledged that Britain still had "hideous" health inequalities, pointing out that life expectancy in parts of Glasgow was lower than it was in the Gaza Strip.

He suggested a culture of payment by results could be used to encourage hospitals to crack down on unhygienic conditions. He said hospitals would be motivated to bring illnesses like MRSA under control, if they receive less cash for each patient who contracts the bug.

He added Britain should not recruit more nurses from overseas than it really needs and must prioritise the training and employing of new British staff.

Bradford Council leader Councillor Kris Hopkins, who is the Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate for Keighley, was also present during Mr Cameron's visit.

He said: "Airedale is one of the jewels in Keighley's crown but Labour's centralised approach has the potential to put the hospital's achievements and reputation at risk.

"Local people rightly demand a very high quality of patient care and it is vital that this is maintained.

"We must ensure that the key decisions are taken at the right level, by the right people, including patients, not imposed by a high-handed and target-obsessed Government in Whitehall."