The first ever live debate with the three main party leaders was aired last week, much to the delight of political commentators and those on social networking sites such as Twitter.

After debates surrounding immigration and the economy, the tone of conversation soon turned to healthcare, with the leaders concentrating on topics such as elderly care and cancer treatment.

Current Prime Minister Gordon Brown, first outlined his plans for the NHS, saying that he believed more elderly people should be helped by those in social care jobs to stay in their own home, negating the need to go into nursing or care homes. Brown also laid down some guarantees to give reassurance to cancer patients that they would see a specialist within one week and have an operation within 18 weeks if required.

Conservative leader David Cameron spoke personally about his son Ivan, who tragically passed away after a long illness. Cameron paid tribute to the healthcare professionals that helped him and his family through the struggle, pledging to increase the NHS budget as well as saying he would ''improve it, expand it and develop it'' to ensure more choice for patients. On the elderly care front, Cameron labelled it highly unfair that homeowners who worked hard all their lives were expected to cough up for care; unveiling plans for individuals to put aside £8,000 at retirement age for their care, then receive the rest of their care costs gratis. The Tory leader also outlined plans to make cancer drugs accessible for all, stating that under Labour leadership, the UK's cancer mortality rate was higher than that of Bulgaria.

Perhaps the surprise of the night, Nick Clegg spoke of the manager/frontline staff deficit, commenting that whilst thousands of NHS managers are being recruited, wards lie empty and A&E facilities are shut. Clegg was cited in The Nursing Times as saying that ''people know money is tight... people know that you can't promise something for nothing.''

Polls from YouGov suggest that on the healthcare debate and overall Clegg is most favoured - for the time being at least. The Lib Dem leader accused the other politicians of offering ''much of the same'' and ''potentially changing the election dynamic'' according to The Telegraph.

Further debates are planned on Sky News and BBC One in the upcoming weeks leading up to the election and will undoubtedly spark more discussions on healthcare provisions.

Whatever the result of the general election, it is hoped that the winning party will embrace improvements of the NHS, lowering mortality rates and providing high quality care for all.