Almost 10,000 extra people have died from non-Covid illnesses in England and Wales than would be expected since summer, according to official figures. Experts have demanded an urgent investigation into whether the deaths were avoidable and if the current NHS crisis and emergency care delays are to blame. There have been around 21,000 more deaths from all causes than average since July, according to Office for National Statistics data up to November 5. But about 11,500 of these involved Covid, leaving a little more than 9,000 due to other causes such as dementia, heart and lung disease and cancer. Oxford University's Professor Carl Heneghan, an eminent expert in evidence-based medicine, said he suspected many of the excess deaths were 'potentially reversible'. He told The Telegraph: 'This goes beyond just looking at the raw numbers and death certificates. We need to go back and find if these deaths have any preventable causes. This could be the fallout from the lack of preventable care during the pandemic.' Since January, there have been 46,000 more deaths than the five-year average, but nearly 77,000 were Covid-related. The above graph shows the number of fatalities from all causes compared to the five-year average. It reveals that deaths have been above expected levels since July even as vaccines have kept Covid fatalities at a fraction of their previous levels The above graph shows the number of deaths that are involving Covid (blue) and are not involving the virus (green). It reveals that deaths have been above average since July The above line graph shows all fatalities recorded in England and Wales (blue line) compared to the five-year average (blue dotted line). It reveals that fatalities have been above expected levels since the summer began The NHS waiting list for routine hospital treatment in England has reached 5.83million, official data reveals 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 Professor Heneghan said: 'I'm calling for an urgent investigation. If you look at where the excess is happening, it's in conditions like ischemic heart disease, and cirrhosis of the liver and diabetes, all which are potentially reversible.' He added: 'We urgently need to understand what's going wrong and an investigation of the root causes to determine those actions that can prevent further unnecessary deaths.' NHS waiting list hits ANOTHER record-high A record 5.83million patients are on NHS waiting lists for routine treatment in England, official data reveas as hospital bosses warn they are already under 'unsustainable' pressure heading into winter. The mammoth figure — which has snowballed since Covid struck — includes 10,000 patients who have spent two years in the queue for elective surgery, such as hip and knee replacements. Hospitals were forced to cancel thousands of operations during the darkest days of the pandemic to make room for the infected, leaving lives 'on hold' for thousands of patients battling milder conditions. Doctors warned the build-up was 'concerning' because winter pressures and staffing absences have yet to hit peak levels, describing the health service as being 'on its knees'. A poll of NHS bosses found nine in 10 felt the current situation — dealing with the pandemic-induced the backlog and Covid — is 'unsustainable' and patient care is being compromised. 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 year for treatment has soared to more than 300,000, accounting for one in 20 people on the list. Advertisement Figures also show more people are dying at home than ever before. There were some 964 extra deaths in private homes in the week to November 5, the latest available, which was 40 per cent above the five-year average. There were also 548 extra deaths in hospitals, 12 per cent above average, and 155 excess deaths in care homes, seven per cent above average. It has been suggested that deaths at home have risen because more people were choosing to die there. But some experts fear it may be because terminally ill people don't want to go into hospital in case they catch the virus. And they also do not want to face visiting restrictions that would block loved ones from visiting them in their final days. The figures come as the NHS faces a crisis in routine and emergency care after thousands of appointments were shelved during the darkest days of the pandemic. A record 5.83million patients are currently waiting for routine treatment on the health service in England, including 300,000 patients who have spent a year in the queue. Some 10,000 patients have now been waiting two years to be seen for surgery such as hip and knee replacements. A crisis has also erupted in emergency care, with ambulances carrying sick patients left standing outside hospital for hours waiting for beds in A&E. Paramedic bosses say crews are currently picking up two to three patients a day, wheras normally they would collect up to eight. Calls to 999 have also hit a record, with 1.2million people making a desperate call to the service in October. But health chiefs have admitted as much as three-quarters of these are repeat callers pleading for an update on the arrival of their ambulance. NHS data for October shows the average waiting time for some emergency 999 ambulance calls has reached 54 minutes. This is triple the 18-minute target for ambulance trusts to respond to these 'Category 2' calls, which includes strokes and heart attacks. Medics have warned that A&E patients are having to wait more than 12 hours for a bed because emergency departments are so overwhelmed due to crippling staff shortages, pandemic backlogs and unprecedented demand. Shocking statistics also show more than 7,000 patients waited 12-plus hours to be seen in A&E in October — more than triple the number in the same month pre-Covid. NHS England boss Amanda Pritchard warned yesterday that she expected 'things to get worse before they get better'. She suggested the health service needed more doctors and nurses — not more cash — to address the deepening crisis, adding that 'nothing works without staff'. All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility