NHS waiting list hits new record high breaching 7million for first time
NHS waiting lists have hit a new high breaching the "grim milestone" of 7million for the first time ever.
That's up from the 6.8million who were waiting for routine operations in July.
The figures for August are the highest since records began in 2007.
It means one in eight people are waiting for NHS ops, like knee and hip replacements.
Health thinktanks branded the new figures a "grim milestone for the NHS" and should serve as a warning of the dire situation the health service faces ahead of what is expected to be its toughest winter ever.
It comes a day after the NHS Blood Donation service warned thousands of operations could be cancelled due to a shortage of blood, amid fears supplies could run out in a matter of days.
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Of those on the waiting list, a staggering 390,000 have been forced to wait over a year for treatment - up from 377,689 at the end of July.
The figures also show the number of people left waiting more than 12 hours on trolleys in A&E hit 32,776 in September - the highest level since August 2010 and up from 28,756 in August.
And in September, more than one in 10 people with a serious condition like stroke or chest pain waited over 100 minutes for an ambulance.
Both the government and the NHS has set a target of eliminating waits of more than a year by 2025.
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Tim Gardner, senior policy fellow at the Health Foundation, said today's data should serve as a "warning to the Government".
"Today marks a grim milestone for the NHS, with over seven million people now waiting for treatment," he said.
"NHS and social care services are already under severe strain, even before winter starts to bite", he added.
Meanwhile, Tim Mitchell, vice-president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England said that hospitals are carrying out fewer operations than before the pandemic due to a lack of staff and beds.
He told the : "It's tough on patients and tough on staff who want to get on and treat patients.
"Not only do we need to get back to where we were before the pandemic, we need to do more if we are going to tackle the backlog."
Dr Sarah Clarke, president of the Royal College of Physicians said the system is still under pressure and that there is a risk that long waits become the norm - compromising patient safety.
Despite figures reaching an all time high, separate stats show that 2.8 million Brits have been tested for cancer in the last year.
'HUGE PRESSURE'
This is up by a fifth from 2.32 million in 2018/19.
Meanwhile more than a quarter of a million people (255,055) were checked for cancer August – the highest number since records began.
The number of people receiving cancer treatment continues to be high, with well over 27,000 people starting cancer treatment in August.
Professor Sir Stephen Powis, of NHS England said: “Despite huge pressures on the NHS this summer, the incredible work of colleagues across the country meant that in August we delivered more potentially life-saving cancer checks than ever before, and cut 18 month waits by 60 per cent over the last year."
'IN CRISIS'
Minesh Patel, Head of Policy at Macmillan Cancer Support added that while it's positive to see an increase in cancer referrals, far too many people with cancer continue to experience unacceptable delays in accessing the care they desperately need.
"NHS cancer care is in crisis as we head into winter.
“As more and more people enter a cancer care system that is already struggling, the Government must guarantee the NHS has all it needs to address the longstanding challenges cancer care has been facing, including significant staffing shortages.
"Without extra funding, we are deeply concerned the situation for people with cancer is set only to go from bad to worse as patients are once again left to pay the price," Minesh added.
WORST ON RECORD
However, the data also revealed that 71 per cent of patients in England were seen within four hours at A&Es last month, the joint-worst performance on record.
The standard for A&E care, is that 95 per cent of patients should be admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours, but this has not been met nationally since 2015.
NHS England said that a total of 387,257 people in England had been waiting more than 52 weeks to start hospital treatment at the end of August.
This compares to 377,689 at the end of July - equating to one in 18 people on the waiting list.
At the end of August, 2,646 people had been waiting more than two years to start treatment - with this figure being down from July's 2,885.
Some progress however has been made, as in January, those waiting more than two years had hit a peak of 23,778.
When it comes to ambulance waits, the average response time in September was nine minutes and 19 seconds.
These were for the most urgent incidents such as life-threatening illness or injury.
This is up from nine minutes and eight seconds in August, though below the record longest average response time for this category of nine minutes and 35 seconds, which was reached in July.
'FALLING APART'
The NHS said that the target response for such an incident is seven minutes.
While some of the figures, such as those being tested for cancer, have been positive, one expert said more investment still needs to be made.
Professor Philip Banfield, council chair of the British Medical Association (BMA) said: "Whatever way you look at this, these figures are a damning example of what happens when a Government persists in failing to properly invest in or resource its health service.
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"That one in eight people in England are now waiting for treatment is totally unacceptable.
"Our NHS is falling apart before our eyes, nowhere near enough is being done to save it and Government policy is escalating harm to patients."