Patients in England’s most deprived areas wait longer for NHS treatment, data reveals
Patients from the most deprived areas of England face longer waits for NHS treatment and make up a higher proportion of those waiting for care, according to figures.Data released by NHS England on Thursday provides a breakdown of the health service’s waiting lists by ethnicity and deprivation levels for the first time.It shows that people in the most deprived areas of England and people from ethnic minority backgrounds make up a disproportionate and growing proportion of those waiting for NHS treatment.An average of 3.1% of patients living in the most deprived areas had been waiting more than a year to begin treatment as of June, compared with 2.
7% of the least deprived.The deprivation gap is even wider in certain regions of England, with 2.4% of patients in the most deprived areas in London waiting over a year for treatment, compared with about 4.9% of the most deprived in the east of England.Patients from an Asian or British Asian background were more likely to be waiting longer than 18 weeks for treatment than any other group, and the east of England and south-west England were regions with the largest ethnicity gap for people waiting more than a year to begin hospital treatment.
Among white British patients, 60.3% were seen within 18 weeks, compared with 57% of Bangladeshi patients, and 58.2% of Asian and British Asian groups overall.The data was released after the health secretary, Wes Streeting, launched his 10-year plan for the NHS, which includes new neighbourhood health centres opening in places where life expectancy is at its lowest.Women made up a disproportionate percentage of those on the waiting list for NHS treatment, at 57%, while also being more likely to be waiting more than 18 and 52 weeks than men.
People of a working age (between 19 and 64) are also more likely to wait over a year to start treatment, at 3%, compared with 2.5% of those over 65.According to the latest census, 62.9% of the overall population of England and Wales are of working age.Siva Anandaciva, the director of policy, partnerships and events at the King’s Fund thinktank, said the government’s 10-year plan did not say enough on how to reduce health inequalities, and that it was “simply not ambitious enough”.
She added: “It is crucial that we see further and faster ambition in the months that come to narrow these avoidable differences in experiences of the NHS.Addressing persistent inequalities in the English health service is ultimately good for patients, good for communities and good for the NHS.”Streeting said: “Our 10-year health plan will tackle health inequalities faced across the country, diverting billions of pounds to working-class communities, and providing truly targeted, bespoke care to all patients where they live via the neighbourhood health service.”
Trump calls Fed chair ‘a numbskull’ who ‘makes it difficult for people to buy a house’
Donald Trump has renewed his attacks on Jerome Powell, calling the US central bank chair a “numbskull” and accusing him of “making it difficult for people, especially the young, to buy a house”.The US president accused Powell of preventing the Federal Reserve from lowering interest rates to make housing more affordable.Recent figures have shown US house prices rising to all-time highs after a decline during the winter and early spring.Powell, referred to as “Too Late” by the president on his own social media platform Truth Social, is expected to respond on Friday to calls by the White House for an inspection into renovation costs at the central bank’s headquarters in Washington.Trump grabbed the opportunity to try to embarrass the Fed chief after it was revealed that a planned $1
Ofwat to be abolished as ministers look to create new water regulator
England and Wales’ embattled water regulator will be abolished under recommendations from a government-commissioned review due out on Monday, the Guardian understands.Ministers will announce next week a consultation into creating a new regulator, to coincide with the results of a review into the water industry directed by former Bank of England deputy governor Sir Jon Cunliffe.This consultation is likely to conclude with the abolition of Ofwat, the watchdog that polices how much water companies can charge for services in England and Wales, sources said.Ofwat has faced intense criticism over its failure to prevent sewage spills, hefty payments of dividends, and ballooning debts across England and Wales’s water companies. The review will recommend a new regulatory system
Risk of undersea cable attacks backed by Russia and China likely to rise, report warns
The risk of Russia- and China-backed attacks on undersea cables carrying international internet traffic is likely to rise amid a spate of incidents in the Baltic Sea and around Taiwan, according to a report.Submarine cables account for 99% of the world’s intercontinental data traffic and have been affected by incidents with suspected state support over the past 18 months.Analysis by Recorded Future, a US cybersecurity company, singled out nine incidents in the Baltic Sea and off the coast of Taiwan in 2024 and 2025 as a harbinger for further disruptive activity.The report said that while genuine accidents remained likely to cause most undersea cable disruption, the Baltic and Taiwanese incidents pointed to increased malicious activity from Russia and China.“Campaigns attributed to Russia in the North Atlantic-Baltic region and China in the western Pacific are likely to increase in frequency as tensions rise,” the company said
Inside Elon Musk’s plan to rain SpaceX’s rocket debris over Hawaii’s pristine waters
Texas has long been under threat from the launches and explosions of SpaceX rockets. Now Hawaii is emerging as another possible victimThe north-west Hawaiian island of Mokumanamana is said to be touched by the gods. Bisected by the Tropic of Cancer latitude line, it is deep in the Pacific Ocean, about 400 miles from Honolulu. The island’s steep rocky cliffs give way to indigo blue waters dotted with monk seals and stony coral. No humans have lived on Mokumanamana, but it has the world’s highest density of ancient Hawaiian religious sites
The Open 2025: sensational second-round 64 gives Scheffler outright lead – live reaction
Thank you from myself and Scott for following the second round with us. We’re set for a superb weekend. Early on Saturday afternoon, the crowds will seek to inspire magic from Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy (albeit Lowry did receive a two shot penalty after his round). Tyrrell Hatton and Robert MacIntyre will have high hopes. Matt Fitzpatrick will look to snipe at the leader
Lions desperate for fast start in Test that will set the tone for Australia series
Talk is of a possible clean sweep for tourists but the onus is on Australia to make one or two Lions eat their confident wordsWhatever unfolds over the next three Saturdays this British & Irish Lions series will resonate more than its predecessor. Simply to see visiting fans in red jerseys wandering down Queen Street in central Brisbane is to be thankful the whole enterprise has a beating heart once again, in contrast to South Africa four years ago when a Covid-disrupted, spectator-free experience sapped everyone’s spirits.Because a Lions tour is nothing without a human element, enticed back every four years by the fabled steepness of the challenge. “This is our Everest, boys,” growled Jim Telfer back in 1997 and, as usual, the master coach was right. On only three occasions in the past 50 years has a Lions squad returned home triumphant and, for now, a series win remains the holy grail for the professional egg chasers of England, Ireland, Scotland and, if selected, Wales
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