"The research refutes Rishi Sunak’s insistence that the pandemic caused the record number of 7.2 million people waiting for treatment – for example for hip and knee replacements – that hospitals are facing. Covid has simply exacerbated a decline in quality of care, especially in access to urgent and emergency care, that was evident before the virus emerged in early 2020 and was also closely linked to staff shortages.

““Most indicators suggest that the pandemic has heaped unbearable pressure on services that were already struggling to meet expectations for quality and access prior to the pandemic,” Morris said.”