In response to new Nuffield Trust analysis showing that ethnic disparities in hospital care worsened in the COVID-19 pandemic, NHS Providers' interim deputy chief executive and director of policy and strategy, Miriam Deakin, said:

"First the pandemic and now the rising cost of living have made long-standing health inequalities even worse.

"The inequality gap faced by ethnic minorities, disabled people and those from more deprived and disadvantaged communities grew wider in the pandemic.

"Trust leaders are committed to tackling avoidable differences in people's access to and experiences of health services.

"Urgent government action is needed to tackle deep-rooted and wider causes of some people's worse health outcomes, and to help the NHS to address inequalities.

"We want people from all backgrounds and communities to be able to have confidence in the care they receive."