Responding to Therese Coffey's appointment as the new Health & Social Care Secretary, Dr Jonathan Pearson-Stuttard, LCP Partner & Head of Health Analytics, said:

"At the top of Therese Coffey’s agenda will be tackling the NHS waiting list backlog post pandemic. We expect the number on waiting lists to continue to increase during this winter and could reach more than 10m by Spring 2024. This is likely to be compounded by patients presenting at later stages and in poorer health than previously because of the longer waiting times and hidden health needs. These are alarming numbers, but the scale of inequalities are even greater representing large differences in health needs across the country. The new Health Secretary should harness the data to ensure action is targeted to areas with greatest need and proportionate. Alongside elective waiting lists, we have seen persistent excess deaths in middle-aged adults through the indirect impacts of the pandemic. Urgent action is required to address this and ensure existing health and health-related inequalities do not worsen further.”