MAJOR investment in healthcare means police may miss out on a much-needed cash injection, Thames Valley Police Federation has warned.

The NHS is set to receive extra Government investment amounting to £23bn per year by 2023. But, despite the positive news for the country's health service, ministers have already suggested that such sizeable investment in the NHS may mean less for other services.

Thames Valley Police Federation chairman Craig O'Leary has issued a stark warning about public safety if police go on without extra funds..

He suggested people in the Thames Valley would grow disillusioned with the Government's lack of investment in policing.

Speaking about the health investment, Mr O'Leary said: “What will be the result of this? More cuts. It’s the only thing that can happen.

“We will be forced to rethink how we do policing and it’s the public who will ultimately suffer.

“They don’t feel safe when they leave the house – they see these reports in the papers about how stretched their forces are and, at the end of the day, the police will have to change how they police because there won’t be the resources to do what we do now.

“Ultimately the public will lose out.”

Mr O'Leary said that continued refusal to invest in police forces could backfire on the Government.

He continued: “If they lose the public on this, then that is a recipe for disaster for them.

“They lost the police years ago but eventually the public are going to realise what’s going on.

"The wrong messages are going out and it will backfire on them.”

Mr O'Leary, who initially showed positivity towards pledges from Home Secretary Sajid Javid and policing minister Nick Hurd, is now worried that promises of funding will not bear fruit.

Mr Javid, who stepped into the role in April, told officers he would prioritise police funding in the next spending review when speaking at the Police Federation Conference in Birmingham earlier this year.

Mr O'Leary continued: “You do have to try and take them at their word, but recent media reports don’t look very positive.

“All of this will just mean one thing – a reduced service for the public which is just really sad.”

Last year, the Government announced an extra £450m for forces in England and Wales.

The money, however, was either ring-fenced or only available through new powers giving police and crime commissioners the option to raise their portion of council tax. Thames Valley commissioner Anthony Stansfeld did raise tax, meaning that the average householder in Oxfordshire now pays £12 extra per year.

Meanwhile, the Government froze the main police grant at £12.6bn.

Nearly £100m has been removed from TVP’s budget over the past seven years.