Press releases

‘It is abundantly clear that the social care system cannot continue in its current form and is failing the people who need it', say Richard Murry, Chief Executive of The King's Fund

'The waiting list for planned hospital care continues to climb towards levels not seen since the waiting times crisis in the 1990s, with the number of people on the list now reaching 5.7 million and almost 10,000 people waiting more than two years,' says Siva Anandaciva, Chief Analyst at The King's Fund.  

‘GPs report that they are working harder than ever, yet patients are finding it difficult to get an appointment – it is clear that something needs to be done,' says Beccy Baird, Senior Fellow at The King's Fund.

‘As the health and care system moves away from a period defined by competition to one where collaboration and partnership working are much more important, it is useful to think about the leadership skills required now and in the future', says Sally Warren, Director of Policy at The King's Fund.

‘Waits for hospital treatment were already rising before Covid-19. But the pandemic has pushed NHS waiting lists to record levels and laid bare the deep health inequalities in England', says Siva Anandaciva, Chief Analyst at The King's Fund.

'The Covid-19 pandemic... [has] caused almost 72,000 excess deaths compared with the 2015–19 average – the biggest fall in life expectancy since World War II and among the highest in Europe for that year', says Veena Raleigh, Senior Fellow at The King's Fund.

The GSK IMPACT Awards recognise the outstanding work of small and medium sized charities working to improve health and wellbeing in communities across the UK. As overall winners, MumsAid will receive £40,000 in unrestricted funding as well as expert support and leadership development provided by leading health and care charity The King’s Fund. 

‘Despite the best efforts of NHS staff, waiting lists for routine NHS care have swollen to levels last seen 15 years ago. There are more than 5.6 million people waiting for care already,' say Siva Anandaciva, Chief Analysis at The King's Fund.

'Overall we welcome the historic levels of investment in both the NHS and social care announced today and the fact the government has finally grasped the nettle of social care reform. However, a large dose of realism is needed in terms of what this money will be able to deliver and how fast,' says Richard Murray, Chief Executive of The King’s Fund.

'NHS hospitals face competing demands for their limited resources and a coherent national strategy for balancing these pressures is urgently needed ahead of winter,' says Deborah Ward, Senior Analyst at The King’s Fund.

'There is now an urgent need for a fully funded workforce strategy to increase recruitment, tackle staff burnout, and support health and care leaders to create compassionate and inclusive workplace cultures that staff want to work in,' says Richard Murray, Chief Executive of The King’s Fund.

'The government and NHS leaders need to consider how general practice will be supported to work with other NHS and care services to make sure that people continue to be able to access the care they need,’ says Beccy Baird, Senior Fellow at The King’s Fund.

'NHS services face competing demands for their limited resources and a coherent national strategy for balancing these pressures is urgently needed,' says Siva Anandaciva, Chief Analyst at The King’s Fund commenting on the latest NHS hospital performance data.

‘These are important reforms that could be undermined by controversial plans for greater ministerial interference in the day-to-day running of the NHS,' says Richard Murray, Chief Executive of The King's Fund, commenting on the Health and Care Bill.

Urgent action is needed to tackle stark inequalities in rates of obesity and obesity-related illness and prevent the NHS from being overwhelmed, according to a new briefing published by The King’s Fund.

Deborah Ward, Senior Analyst at The King’s Fund, comments on the latest NHS performance statistics.

‘The pandemic has had a grossly disproportionate impact on poorer communities and ethnic minority groups,' says Veena Raleigh, Senior Fellow at The King’s Fund.

'Infant mortality rates in the UK compare poorly with European peers and have long been characterised by wide inequalities, including between different ethnic groups,' says Veena Raleigh, Senior Fellow at The Kings Fund.