The Stats of the Nation: Health
Tim Harford explores the numbers that help explain the state of health and the NHS in the UK
What kind of state does the UK find itself in as we start 2026? That鈥檚 the question Tim Harford and the More or Less team is trying to answer in a series of five special programmes.
In the second episode, we鈥檙e asking some interesting questions about health and the NHS:
Has life expectancy in the UK started to go up again at last?
What statistics tell you about the health of the NHS?
After years of promises, are there actually any more GPs?
What鈥檚 happening to cancer rates in the UK?
What鈥檚 gone wrong with productivity in the health service?
Get in touch if you鈥檝e seen a number in the news you think we should take a look at: moreorless@bbc.co.uk
Contributors:
Stuart McDonald, Head of Longevity and Demographic Insights at the consultancy Lane Clark & Peacock (LCP)
Jon Shelton, Head of Cancer Intelligence at Cancer Research UK
Ben Zaranko, Associate Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies
Credits:
Presenter: Tim Harford
Reporter: Nathan Gower
Producers: Lizzy McNeill, Katie Solleveld and Charlotte McDonald
Series producer: Tom Colls
Production co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele
Sound mix: Sarah Hockley and Neil Churchill
Editor: Richard Vadon
On radio
Broadcast
- Tomorrow 09:00麻豆社 Radio 4
Unlock the history and truth behind the data with The OU
Explore how numbers shape, and sometimes mislead us, with The Open University.
When can you trust statistics?
麻豆社 Ideas discovers three easy ways to help make sense of statistics.
Download this programme
Subscribe to the More or Less Podcast or download individual episodes.