The NHS’s waitlists have reached a record-breaking high, and they are again rising amid strikes chaos.
The number of Brits due treatment increased to 7,218,001 in February, NHS figures show – a backslide after hospitals brought it below 7.2m in November.
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The backlog was exacerbated by huge winter demand and industrial action from nurses and ambulance personnel.
Current junior doctors’ strikes – which end on Saturday morning – will add to patient woes with another 350,000 appointments at risk of cancellation on top of 175,000 in the first walkout.
Meanwhile, figures published for the first time show one in ten visitors to A&E spend more than 12 hours there.
Miriam Deakin, from NHS Providers, said: “It’s clear the ongoing strikes are hindering progress on care backlogs.”
NHS England’s medical director, Professor Sir Stephen Powis said: “The last few months have been demanding for the NHS as record numbers of patients have come forward on top of hugely disruptive strike action.”
NHS claimed it has reduced the length of op waits, and that the average patient waiting for 18 months to receive treatment fell by one-third per month to 29,778.
But A&E delays are laid bare in new data that show how many people wait 12 hours or more from arrival to discharge or admission.
In February it was 10.6 per cent – 125,505 out of 1.2million visits.
A quarter of the patients in worst hospitals spend at least half their day in hospital.
Charities are warning that waits for treatment of cancer can be too long. Many people will not start vital therapies within the timeframe.
Dr Tim Cooksley, from the Society of Acute Medicine, said: “We are heading for extremely troubled times.
“We must not wait until the middle of winter for a chaotic and dangerous situation before recognising just how precarious the position is.
“Strike action will have and may continue to impact performance, but it is not the fundamental cause of the issues.”