The prime minister has blamed COVID-19 for hospital bed shortages and record A&E and ambulance delays plaguing the NHS.
Rishi Sunak insisted that improvements are being made to the health service already but that it is a “reality” that the pandemic contributed to a huge backlog in the system.
“I think it’s not right to ignore the impact that COVID had. The reality is that for two years the NHS had to stop doing lots of things that it normally does,” he told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg show.
Read more: Sunak demands ‘bold and radical’ action to ease NHS crisis as more strikes loom
“Unsurprisingly, once we get back to normal, all of those treatments come back at a pace that was anticipated but is obviously very significant.
“Has the NHS had pressures before? Of course it has, but COVID has undeniably had an enormous difference, and it is wrong to ignore that.
“I can’t help that COVID happened, I can’t help that there are now thousands of people in hospitals who normally would not be there.”
