Tim Gardner

Who Tim Gardner is

Tim Gardner is Deputy Director of Policy at the Health Foundation, an independent charitable organisation working to build a healthier UK. He sits in the policy team, which analyses and informs national policies on health and social care in England. He joined the Health Foundation in 2014, having previously spent over ten years at the Department of Health and Social Care working on policy and legislation, including NHS strategy, health and social care integration, and the government's response to the Francis Inquiry. He has also worked at NHS England and NHS Improvement, and spent three years on children's social care policy at the Department for Education. Gardner is regularly quoted in the UK press on NHS waiting lists, elective care recovery, urgent and emergency care pressures, and the need for reform and investment in social care.

References for this biography

1. 1.Tim Gardner – Deputy Director of Policy | The Health Foundation — Current role title, organisation, career history at DHSC, NHS England/Improvement and DfE, and join date of 2014
2. 2.Our spokespeople | The Health Foundation — Confirms Tim Gardner is a named Health Foundation spokesperson for media comment
3. 3.The Health Foundation responds to the government's 10 Year Capital Plan — Most recent (July 2026) press release quoting Gardner by his current Deputy Director of Policy title
4. 4.Health Foundation comment on Elective Recovery Taskforce — Example of Gardner quoted in press on NHS elective waiting lists under earlier Assistant Director title
5. 5.Tim Gardner, The Health Foundation – Written supplementary evidence (AES0052) — Evidences Gardner's parliamentary engagement on urgent and emergency care and social care policy
6. 6.THE HEALTH FOUNDATION – Companies House overview — Confirms registered office address: 8 Salisbury Square, London, EC4Y 8AP
7. 7.Contact our media office | The Health Foundation — Organisational press contact details: mediaoffice@health.org.uk and press phone numbers

Notable achievements

• Submitted written supplementary evidence to a UK parliamentary committee on urgent and emergency care pressures and the systemic need to expand social care provision. Source ↗
• Appointed Deputy Director of Policy at the Health Foundation, listed as the organisation's most prolific policy team author with 40 attributed publications. Source ↗
• Quoted as a named spokesperson by the Health Foundation responding to the government's 10 Year Capital Plan for the NHS in July 2026. Source ↗

What Tim Gardner has said

• “The waiting list figures present a challenging outlook for the NHS, particularly as it heads into what NHS leaders have warned is likely to be one of the toughest winters the health service has faced.”

  assistant director of policy at the Health Foundation · NHS waiting lists · 30 Sept 2026 · NHS waiting list falls as Streeting says health service ‘on road to recovery’ ↗

• “While it is positive to see a reduction in the overall waiting list, A&E departments continue to remain overwhelmed, with far too many patients facing unacceptably long waits.”

  assistant director of policy at the Health Foundation · NHS waiting lists · 30 Sept 2026 · Long waits in A&E rise sharply but overall NHS waiting list continues to fall ↗

• “The waiting list for routine hospital treatment increased to 7.22m in April, with a slight worsening of waiting times and the number of very long waits, following rapid gains in March ahead of the interim targets.”

  deputy director of policy at The Health Foundation · NHS waiting lists · 30 Sept 2026 · ​Waiting list progress stalls in April ↗

• “The latest NHS data reveal the significant toll winter has taken on the health service, with pressures felt most acutely in A&E.”

  assistant director of policy at the Health Foundation · NHS waiting lists · 30 Sept 2026 · NHS waiting list falls to lowest level in almost three years ↗

• “There are no quick fixes. Sustainable improvement will depend on tackling the underlying drivers of poor performance – including strengthening operational management and capital investment, addressing workforce pressures and boosting the capacity of community-based services outside of hospitals.”

  deputy director of policy at The Health Foundation · A&E & ambulance response · 29 Sept 2026 · Percentage of people waiting 12 hours or more in A&E triples, report ↗

• “While NHS waiting lists often rise at this time of year, the lack of sustained progress towards ending hospital backlogs is concerning. The overall waiting list for routine hospital treatment increased to 7.33m in July, and the percentage of waits within 18 weeks decreased slightly to 65.4%.”

  deputy director of policy at The Health Foundation · NHS waiting lists · 29 Sept 2026 · NHS waiting list rises for third time in four months ↗

• “the data revealed, for the first time, the full scale of "unacceptable" corridor care in NHS hospitals”

  deputy director of policy at the Health Foundation think tank · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 8 Sept 2026 · NHS publishes data on corridor care in hospitals for first time ↗

• “Resorting to corridor care is not a safe way to run a health service. Long delays in A&E departments put patients at risk of avoidable harm and take a major toll on NHS staff trying to deliver care in impossible situations.”

  Assistant Director of Policy, The Health Foundation · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Corridor care ‘new normal’ in England for one in five NHS inpatients ↗

• “Recent progress is encouraging, but meeting the government's pledges to reduce waiting times will require a herculean effort. It's touch and go whether the current 'sprint' will be enough to meet this month's interim target, with substantial variation across the country and some trusts struggling to even get close.”

  assistant director of policy at the Health Foundation · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · NHS to miss targets for cutting A&E wait times and performance in England ↗

Where Tim Gardner has been quoted

1. NHS waiting list down after three months of risesbbc.com · 30 Sept 2026
2. NHS waiting list falls as Streeting says health service ‘on road to recovery’independent.co.uk · 30 Sept 2026
3. Long waits in A&E rise sharply but overall NHS waiting list continues to fallindependent.co.uk · 30 Sept 2026
4. ​Waiting list progress stalls in Aprilhealthcare-management.uk · 30 Sept 2026
5. NHS waiting list falls to lowest level in almost three yearsstandard.co.uk · 30 Sept 2026
6. Percentage of people waiting 12 hours or more in A&E triples, reporthealthcare-management.uk · 29 Sept 2026
7. NHS waiting list rises for third time in four monthshealthcare-management.uk · 29 Sept 2026
8. NHS publishes data on corridor care in hospitals for first timenursingtimes.net · 8 Sept 2026
9. Corridor care ‘new normal’ in England for one in five NHS inpatientstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
10. NHS to miss targets for cutting A&E wait times and performance in Englandtheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026

Related media coverage

Recent UK press coverage of their topics — not necessarily citing them directly.

• Emergency doctor 'completely terrified' of looming winter pressures on NHSBBC
• Leaders in Care Awards 2026 | Lifetime Achievement: Care Homes winner revealedHome Care Insight
• GP architect of neighbourhood health reforms to leave NHS EnglandPulse Today

Contact & links

• Staff pagehttps://www.health.org.uk/about-the-health-foundation/our-people/policy-team/tim-gardner
• Xhttps://x.com/TimGardnerTHF
• Press office emailmediaoffice@health.org.ukpublished here ↗
• Press office phone020 7257 8001published here ↗

Organisational contact points only, each taken from a page the organisation publishes itself. No personal or direct contact details are held or shown.