NHS waiting lists surge for third month in a row, new figures reveal
NHS waiting lists have continued to grow for the third month in a row, as ITV News Politics Correspondent Libby Wiener reports
NHS waiting lists have risen for the third month in a row, new figures show.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the numbers show that "14 years of Conservative neglect left the NHS broken" and promised to work "night and day to get the NHS back on its feet".
A series of figures released by the health service today showed some signs of progress, with patients waiting over 18 months for routine treatment dropping significantly from 4,597 in May to 2,621.
However, about 7.62 million treatments were awaiting completion at the end of June for 6.39 million patients in England, a slight increase from 7.60 million treatments and 6.37 million patients in May.
The number of people waiting over 65 weeks for treatment increased slightly to 58,024 in June, up from 55,955 the previous month.
Meanwhile, those waiting more than 52 weeks decreased to 302,693, down from 307,500.
Mr Streeting said: “These figures confirm that 14 years of Conservative neglect left the NHS broken, waiting lists rising, and patients failed.
"Never again should the Conservatives be trusted with our health service. It will take time to turn the NHS around. But we are working night and day to get the NHS back on its feet, so it can once again be there for us all when we need it.”
The government and NHS England aimed to eliminate all waits over 18 months by April 2023, except for exceptionally complex cases or patients who prefer to wait longer.
The target for ending waits of more than 65 weeks has been pushed to September 2024, up from the previous March 2024 deadline, while the goal to eliminate all waits over a year is now set for March 2025.
In July, 36,806 patients waited more than 12 hours in A&E from the decision to admit to being admitted, a decrease from 38,106 in June.
The number of patients waiting at least four hours for admission rose slightly from 128,114 to 129,330.
Some 75.2% of patients in England were seen within four hours in A&Es last month, up from 74.6% in June and the highest level since September 2021.
The NHS recovery plan had aimed for 76% of patients to be admitted, transferred, or discharged within four hours by March this year.
Professor Sir Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director, said: “A&E staff are under significant pressure and the NHS is in the middle of what could be its busiest summer ever, with a total of 4.6 million attendances in the last two months alone and 2024 now having seen the three busiest months for A&E on record."
Louise Ansari, chief executive at Healthwatch England, expressed concern over the pace of progress in speeding up cancer diagnosis.
Some 76.3% of patients urgently referred were diagnosed or had the disease ruled out within 28 days in June, a slight decrease from 76.4% in May.
Although this figure surpasses the 75% target, it has only been met or exceeded four times since the target was set in autumn 2021.
GPs in England made 259,681 urgent cancer referrals in June, down from 270,583 in May and year-on-year from 261,191 a year earlier.
The proportion of patients starting definitive cancer treatment within 62 days of an urgent referral or consultant upgrade rose to 67.4%, up from 65.8% in May, but remains below the 85% target.
Ms Ansari said: “Urgent action is required to ensure that timely cancer diagnosis and treatment becomes the norm for all patients in England.”
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