Ambulances have been queuing outside hospitals, facing long waits to hand over patients to emergency wards as doctors and nurses, hampered by worker shortages, struggle to discharge patients amid staff shortages.
Sunak's Downing Street office said the NHS (National Health Service) Recovery Forum would focus on four issues including emergency care and delayed hospital discharges into social care.
A spokesperson said easing immediate pressures on hospitals whilst also focusing on the long-term improvement of the NHS was a key aim.
"That's why we're bringing together the best minds from the health and care sectors to help share knowledge and practical solutions so that we can tackle the most crucial challenges," the spokesperson said.
Downing Street did not mention the issue of pay awards.
Britain has faced a wave of industrial action over the last few months, with strikes crippling various sectors including healthcare and set to continue as surging inflation follows more than 10 years of stagnant wage growth.
Sunak, who is under increasing pressure including from member of his Conservative Party to improve wage offers to healthcare staff, this week said reducing hospital waiting lists was one of his five priorities for Britain this year. He said this aim might take longer to achieve than some other.
The government has announced extra funding for the NHS and social care, including £500 million ($NZ951 million) for delayed discharges, though the opposition Labour Party said the money "is yet to reach the front line and is now too late to make a difference this winter."
NHS leaders have warned of unprecedented pressure from record demand on services, with statistics from the latest week showing flu cases rose by almost a half.
Health services statistics showed that more than 9 in 10 beds in hospitals were occupied in the week running up to New Year, with 13,000 beds a day taken up by patients who were medically fit to be discharged.
"We knew this winter would be one of the most difficult in the history of the NHS," said NHS national medical director Stephen Powis, adding the NHS was making "good progress to put the equivalent of 7000 extra beds in place by March."
Meanwhile, ambulance workers will go strike on January 23 in an ongoing dispute over pay, Unite said on Friday.
The union said more than 2600 workers in the West Midlands, North West, North East, East Midlands and Wales will take strike action, coinciding with a similar walkout by ambulance workers with the Unison union on January 23.
Unite's general secretary Sharon Graham said ambulance workers had been left with no option and blamed the government for its failure intervene to end the dispute.
Sunak said he was hoping for constructive talks with trade union leaders next week and wanted to have "to have a grown up, honest conversation".
“The talks the government has lined up for Monday yet again look like nothing more than a smoke screen and are clearly not a negotiation on NHS pay," Graham said in statement.
The government has announced plans to bring in legislation to make key public services like ambulances services maintain minimum safety levels during industrial action by staff.
