The NHS waiting list for routine hospital treatment in England has reached 5.83million, official data revealed today marking the eleventh month in a row that the figure has hit a record high.
NHS England data shows 1.6million more Britons were waiting for elective surgery — such as hip and keen operations — at the end of September compared to the start of the pandemic.
The Covid-fuelled backlog forced hospitals to cancel thousands of operations during the darkest days of the crisis to make room for the infected.
NHS bosses today warned the treating thousand of hospitalised Covid patients, winter pressures and pent-up demand from the pandemic means the health service is now facing 'unsustainable' pressure.
But official figures show Covid infections and hospitalisation rates are trending downwards. And around 7,000 patients were in hospitals in England on any given day in the last week, compared to 12,000 at the same time last year.
Social care bosses have warned that 'no jab, no job' policy introduced today for care home works will increase pressures on hospitals, because there sector has less capacity to take on patients coming out of hospitals.
And the same mandate, which will apply to all frontline NHS workers from spring, is expected to pile even more pressure on the health service.
Meanwhile, a record number of Britons made 999 calls and waited more than 12 hours at A&E.
The NHS waiting list for routine hospital treatment in England has reached 5.83million, official data revealed today marking the eleventh month in a row that the figure has hit a record high. Some 1.6million more Britons were waiting for elective surgery — such as hip and keen operations — at the end of September compared to the start of the pandemic
The NHS England data shows the backlog in September is the highest recorded since records began in 2007.
And the number of Britons waiting more than a
