Hospital waiting lists hit record high of 7.75mn in England

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Waiting times for routine hospital treatment in England hit a record high in August, official figures released on Thursday also showed emergency services are under severe pressure.

NHS data in England showed that around 7.75 million patients were waiting to start treatment, up from 7.68 million in July. Meanwhile, the number of people waiting more than 12 hours for treatment after deciding to go to an emergency room reached 33,107 in August, a 15% increase from 28,859 the previous month.

The figures are a further blow to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who has pledged to reduce waiting lists ahead of next year’s general election. Both the ruling Conservative Party and the opposition Labor Party have made solving the NHS crisis a core part of their pitch to voters.

Data show that the number of patients waiting for routine treatment for more than a year increased from 389,952 to 396,643 last month. Meanwhile, the number of people waiting longer than 18 months was 8,998, up from 7,298 in July, underlining the health service’s continued failure to meet its target of eliminating all 18-month waiting times by April this year.

Less than 71.6% of patients presented to the emergency room within four hours, well below the 95% goal and down from 73% last month.

A wave of strikes across the NHS since December has added to pressures already faced by the NHS during the winter, leading to more than 1 million outpatient appointments and surgeries being cancelled.

Consultants took strike action alongside junior doctors this summer, leading health leaders to warn that England’s NHS was at “breaking point”.

Professor Peter Friend, deputy president of the Royal College of Surgeons, said: “The Prime Minister’s important commitment to reduce the size of the waiting list by March 2024 looks increasingly questionable.”

“Increased demand, record staff vacancies and industrial action all continue to hamper recovery efforts. While NHS staff continue to work hard to reduce waiting lists, this is happening under extremely challenging circumstances – and as the pressures of winter hit Before.”

Siva Anandaciva, chief analyst at the King’s Fund, agreed, saying the latest figures showed the NHS was “in red heat heading into the busy winter period”.

Analysis of official data by the Financial Times earlier this month showed that the National Health Service (NHS) is entering a season where there is a huge gap between supply and demand.

Cancer Research UK says a series of key cancer targets have been missed. Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of the charity, said: “Underlying these figures are people anxiously awaiting a cancer diagnosis, with patients unsure when they will receive much-needed treatment.”

NHS national medical director Professor Stephen Powis said high demand for health services was exacerbating the impact of the strike. He added: “Despite this pressure, it is clear from today’s figures that NHS staff are working extremely hard to provide services for patients, with the number of patients on the waiting list in August rising by 10 compared to the same month before the pandemic. %.”

The government said: “Cutting waiting lists is one of the government’s five priorities and despite disruption caused by the strike, 18-month waiting times have been reduced by more than 90% since their peak in September 2021.”