Health Secretary Sajid Javid has said that NHS waiting lists in England could more than double in the coming months.

Javid told the Sunday Telegraph that he was ‘shocked’ when officials warned him that the backlog could reach 13 million patients, but claimed that the lifting of most of the remaining restrictions in England will be lifted.

There are currently 5.3 million people waiting for routine operations and procedures in England. Javid said that waiting lists were his priority, writing in the newspaper that ‘hearing that figure of 13 million’ had ‘absolutely focused my mind’ on the importance of tackling the issue.

Among the solutions, Javid said, would be to pay private healthcare providers to continue to treat NHS patients, and keeping virtual doctors' appointments.

The Health Secretary has previously warned that virus cases could reach 100,000 a day over the summer, if the ending of restrictions goes ahead as planned on 19 July. If that does happen, then statisticians have predicted that hospital admissions could reach 2,500 a day.