The NHS waiting list in England has spiraled to a new record, as medics warn crisis in the hospitals and emergency care will only get worse at the country moves into winter.
Official figures show 6.8million patients were in the queue for routine hospital treatment in July, equivalent to one in eight people.
Nearly 380,000 have been waiting for over one year, while more than 2,800 have been stuck in the backlog for at least two years — a list that was supposed to be cleared by July.
Separate emergency unit data shows that three in 10 A&E attendees were forced to wait longer than four hours in A&E departments in August, while nearly one thousand per day waited for 12 hours.
While ambulance response times recovered slightly last month, the time taken for paramedics to arrive on the scene was still well above targets.
The Society for Acute Medicine warned there is no ‘quick fix’ and urged health chiefs to be frank about ‘just how awful this winter is going to be’ — with the public unable to bank on ‘high quality and timely care’.
The NHS blames pressures in urgent care, the highest summer demand ever and problems in social care for the crisis. It pointed to its tests and checks waiting list, which has fallen for three months in a row.
NHS England figures show 6.8million patients were in the queue for routine hospital treatment in July, equivalent to one in eight people. Nearly 380,000 have been waiting for over one year
Emergency unit data shows that three in 10 Britons were forced to wait longer than four hours in A&E departments in August, while nearly one thousand per day waited for 12 hours
Ambulance response times recovered slightly in August but the time taken for paramedics to arrive on the scene was still well above targets
WHAT DO THE LATEST NHS PERFORMANCE FIGURES SHOW?
The overall waiting list jumped to 6.84million in July. This is up from 6.73million in June and is the highest number since records began in August 2007.
There were 2,885 people waiting more than two years to start treatment at the end of July, down from 3,861 in June but still higher than April 2021, when the figure started to be recorded.
The number of people waiting more than a year to start hospital treatment was 377,689, up from 355,774 the previous month.
Some 28,756 people had to wait more than 12 hours in A&E departments in England in August. The figure is down from 29,317 in July but is the second highest for any month since record began in 2010.
A total of 130,528 people waited at least four hours from the decision to admit to admission in August, down slightly from the all-time high of 136,298 in March.
Just 71.4 per cent of patients were seen within four hours at A&Es last month, the second-worst ever performance. NHS standards set out that 95 per cent should be admitted, transferred or discharged within the four-hour window.
In August, the average category one response time – calls from people with life-threatening illnesses or injuries – was nine minutes and eight seconds. The target time is seven minutes.
Ambulances took an average of 42 minutes and 44 seconds to respond to category two calls, such as burns, epilepsy and strokes. This is more than twice as long as the 18 minute target.
Response times for category three calls – such as late stages of labour, non-severe burns and diabetes – averaged two hours, 16 minutes and 23 seconds. Ambulances are supposed to arrive to these calls within two hours.
Some 424,605 patients were waiting more than six weeks for a key diagnostic test in July, including an MRI scan, non-obstetric ultrasound or gastroscopy.
The number of people on the queue for elective procedures, such as kip and knee replacements, jumped by 113,000 (1.7 per cent) in July, from a previous record of 6.7million in June.
Six in 10 (4.1million) have been waiting for four months.
Meanwhile, 377,689 have been seeking treatment for at least one year — up by 21,915 in a month — and 2,885 have been waiting for two years — down by 967 compared to June.
The NHS insists that all but 170 of the 24-month waiters have either ‘opted to defer treatment’ — by declining an an earlier appointment at another hospital — or are ‘complex cases’ that would be unsafe to move to another hospital.
The NHS had a target of eliminating two-year waits by July, apart from those who choose to delay treatment and complex cases.
Its next deadline is to clear the number of people waiting more than 18 months by April 2023. One-year waits aren’t expected to be scrapped until March 2025.
However, number of patients waiting for tests and checks has fallen for three months in a row and stands at 1.5million.
Professor Sir Stephen Powis, NHS England’s national medical director, said the data shows that the health service is making ‘significant progress’ on cutting backlogs.
He noted that there were ‘improvements in A&E performance and ambulance response times’ despite a soaring calls and challenges in social care.
‘Staff are already looking ahead for a winter that is likely to be as challenging with more 999 and 111 call handlers being recruited alongside the equivalent of 7,000 more beds being made available,’ Professor Powis added.
Separate figures for A&E show that 1.9million people sought emergency care in August — down by 175,000 compared to July.
Some 505,946 people (28.6 per cent) were forced to wait more than four hours — a slight improvement on last month when 559,183 (29 per cent) faced a four-plus hour queue.
However, almost all of A&E attendees (95 per cent) are supposed to be admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours. But his target has not been met nationally since 2015.
Fewer patients waited 12 hours or more — 28,756 in August, compared to 29,317 in July. However, the figure is the second highest since records began in 2010 and three times more than the total number of patients who faced 12 hour waits in 2019. Before the pandemic hit, the monthly record stood at 2,356.
But this problem is thought to be much worse than the figures suggest. The 12-hour period covers the time between medics deciding a patient needs to be admitted and when they actually are given a bed.
But patients usually arrive hours before their condition is deemed serious enough for further treatment.
The NHS blames the problem partly on Covid still putting pressure on the health service, which treated 8,479 infected patients per day this summer — more than the 3,313 in 2021 and 2,032 in 2020.
But a only third of the admissions this summer were admitted because they were unwell with the virus. The other two-thirds were primarily admitted for another ailment but happened to test positive.
And it currently has more than 130,000 vacancies — almost 10 per cent of its planned workforce — with medics warning patient care is suffering as a result.
The health services also said a shortage of beds and social care staff are piling on the pressure — with the latter often take over caring for patients once they are discharged.
The lack of beds has seen ambulances stuck in queues for 20 hours outside of hospitals this summer, as emergency medics scramble to find beds for patients. This is had a knock-on effect on response times.
Ambulance performance statistics for August show that 999 callers waited for less time compared to July. However, patients still faced waits well above NHS targets.
In August, the average category one response time — calls from people with life-threatening illnesses or injuries — was nine minutes and eight seconds. The target time is seven minutes.
Ambulances took an average of 42 minutes and 44 seconds to respond to category two calls , such as burns, epilepsy and strokes. This is more than twice as long as the 18 minute target.
Response times for category three calls — such as late stages of labour, non-severe burns and diabetes — averaged two hours, 16 minutes and 23 seconds. Ambulances are supposed to arrive within two hours.
Wes Streeting, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary said the data shows that the Government ‘has broken its promise to eliminate two year waits by July’, while more patients are waiting for treatment than ever before.
He said: ‘The basic promise that an ambulance will arrive in time when you need one has been broken.
‘There are still thousands of patients who have been waiting more than two years for care, another example of the Conservatives overpromising and underdelivering.
‘Now we have a new Prime Minister in Liz Truss who has proposed charging patients to see a doctor and cutting the NHS budget.’
Tim Gardner, senior policy fellow at the Health Foundation, said the latest NHS figures should ring alarm bells’ for the new Prime Minister and Health Secretary.
He urged ministers to draw up a long-term workforce strategy that is backed by ‘sustained Government investment’.
Mr Gardner also hit out at the PM’s plans to shift billions of pounds of taxpayer cash earmarked for the health service to social care.
He said: ‘Pressures exist across the whole health and care system. The need for investment and to address workforce issues are just as urgent in social care. But diverting money from one to the other would be robbing Peter to pay Paul.’
