Number of people waiting over a year for NHS treatment rises as overall wait ... trends now
The number of people waiting over a year for NHS treatment has risen while progress tackling overall waits has stalled, official figures reveal.
Health analysts warned the waiting list in England remains ‘stubbornly high’, with millions of people left in pain or unable to work.
Figures from NHS England show the backlog for routine hospital treatment was unchanged in March, following five consecutive monthly falls.
An estimated 7.54 million treatments were waiting to be carried out at the end of the month, relating to 6.29 million patients, the same numbers as in February.
The list hit a record high in September 2023 with 7.77 million treatments and 6.50 million patients.
Other data published today shows a mixed picture, with success in the number of people seen for a cancer diagnosis, but waits of over a year for treatment rising.
Siva Anandaciva, chief analyst at the King’s Fund, a health think tank, said: ‘As the NHS comes out of a tough winter, it is encouraging to see some green shoots in today’s statistics which show that improvements have been made in several key measures of cancer care.
‘In March, 77 per cent of people had their cancer diagnosed or ruled out within 28 days of referral, surpassing the national target of 75 per cent.
‘But the road ahead to make further progress in recovering performance in other areas of the NHS, including reducing lengthy waiting times for planned care and A&E, will be long.
‘The hospital waiting list remains stubbornly high at 7.5 million in March, representing 6.3 million people waiting, often in pain or unable to work, for treatment.
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‘A&E departments also continue to be under extreme strain as we head towards summer, with over 2.2 million
