NHS: Number waiting for routine hospital treatment in England hits record high of 6.1m
A total of 6.1 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of December 2021 - the highest number since records began in August 2007.
Thursday 10 February 2022 12:24, UK
The number of people in England waiting to start routine hospital treatment has risen to a new record high.
A total of 6.1 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of December 2021, the highest number since records began in August 2007.
According to NHS England figures, the number of people having to wait more than 52 weeks to start treatment stood at 310,813 in December 2021.
This was up from 306,996 in the previous month and 39% higher than the number in December 2020.
The government and NHS England have set a target of ending all waits of more than a year by March 2025.
A total of 20,065 people were waiting more than two years to start routine hospital treatment at the end of December 2021.
This is up from 18,585 at the end of November and is around eight times the 2,608 people who were waiting longer than two years in April 2021.
The government and NHS England want to eliminate all waits of more than two years, except when it is the patient's choice, by July 2022.
Read: NHS cancer treatment waiting times at record high - how bad are they and why?
Meanwhile, a record 16,558 people had to wait more than 12 hours in A&E departments in England in January from a decision to admit to actually being admitted.
The figure is up from 12,986 in December and is the highest for any calendar month since records began in August 2010.
Some 122,427 people waited at least four hours from the decision to admit to admission in January, another all-time high and up from 120,218 in December.
The number of people admitted for routine treatment in hospitals in England in December was 225,912 - up 18% from a year earlier (191,541), although this reflects lower-than-usual figures for December 2020, which were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The equivalent figure for December 2019, a non-pandemic year, was 252,228.
The average response time last month for ambulances in England dealing with the most urgent incidents - defined as calls from people with life-threatening illnesses or injuries - was eight minutes and 31 seconds.
This is down from nine minutes and 13 seconds in December, and is also below the nine minutes and 20 seconds recorded in October which was the longest average response time since current records began in August 2017.
NHS England figures show 215,393 urgent cancer referrals were made by GPs in England in December, up 6% from the 202,471 reported in December last year.
The equivalent figure for December 2019, a non-pandemic year, was 187,811.
Some 71% of patients urgently referred by GPs for suspected cancer in England in December were diagnosed or had cancer ruled out within 28 days.
Data on this metric only goes back to April 2021 so there are no comparable figures for December 2020.
The elective recovery plan sets the goal that 75% of patients who have been urgently referred by their GP for suspected cancer are diagnosed or have cancer ruled out within 28 days by March 2024.
NHS national medical director, Professor Stephen Powis said: "While seasonal pressures are ongoing, we are now beginning to see the full picture of the Omicron winter on the NHS, and despite sky-high staff absences, hardworking NHS staff continued to make inroads on the backlog that has inevitably built up and delivered 120,000 more tests and checks in December compared to the same time last year.
Read more: NHS tracker postcode search - See how your local trust is performing through the winter
"Hardworking staff also responded to the government's call to protect the nation from the new Omicron variant, delivering over 13 million lifesaving booster jabs in December alone - providing lifesaving protection to millions of people at speed.
"While pressures remain for our staff with the highest number of life-threatening ambulance call outs and 111 calls for the month of January, NHS staff are committed to bringing down the backlog and the clear plan published this week will help increase the number of checks, tests and treatment provided for patients."