New activity data for December 2020 and January 2021 lay bare the continued disruptive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on NHS care.

The new data indicates that the shutdown of most non-COVID-19 services in the first wave, combined with drastic changes in patient behaviour, mean the NHS is now facing a large backlog of non-COVID-19 care, storing up greater problems for the future.

The NHS in England is to be reformed so health and care services can work more closely together, the government says.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the planned restructure will mean a focus "on the health of the population, not just the health of patients".

Excess deaths were higher than deaths involving covid-19 in the week leading up to Christmas, the first time this has occurred during the second wave of the pandemic, show the latest provisional figures. Experts said that this may reflect the pressure on care pathways for patients with non-covid conditions.

The number of patients in England waiting over a year for routine hospital care is now 100 times higher than before the pandemic, figures show.

Nearly 163,000 out of the 4.4 million on the waiting list at the end of October had waited over 12 months for operations such as hip replacements.

Digital technology is transforming how patients and health professionals interact. As a result, NHS England is supporting primary care to move towards a digital first approach, where patients can easily access the advice, support and treatment they need using digital and online tools.