Providers Deliver: How is the NHS tackling the care backlog?

In this episode we kick-start our brand new Providers Deliver series, focusing on setting the scene for the episodes ahead and providing background and context to the range of care backlogs that the NHS is currently facing. 

We hear from Anna Quigley, Ipsos research director, as she shares her latest insights on the impact of the pandemic on levels of public support for the NHS, and the extent to which those perceptions are being affected by care backlogs and treatment delays.

Dr Bola Owolabi, NHS England and NHS Improvement director of health inequalities, joins us to reflect on the way the pandemic has exacerbated health inequalities and the importance of the NHS recovering services in an inclusive way. Dr Owolabi also shares what NHS England and NHS Improvement are doing in response to the latest insights trust leaders have shared about additional practical support they would welcome to recover services inclusively. 

We also hear from Miriam Deakin, NHS Providers director of policy and strategy, and Ella Fuller, NHS Providers policy advisor. They explain between them the depth and breadth of care backlogs across the NHS and the impact of these on patients, their families and carers, NHS staff, and the wider system.