A general view of staff on a NHS hospital ward
MORE than one in 10 people in England are now on an NHS waiting list, according to figures released today, as the service’s capacity reaches its “breaking point.”
A total of 377,618 people had been waiting more than 52 weeks to start routine hospital treatment as of the end of October, down from 391,122 at the end of September, according to NHS England stats. But 10,506 people were estimated to have been waiting more than 18 months, up from 10,201.
The government and NHS England are aiming to eliminate all waits of more than a year by March 2025.
With 121,000 vacancies and 44.8% of staff feeling unwell from work stress, the NHS 10-year plan will not succeed unless the government takes immediate action to retain existing staff, writes ANNETTE MANSELL-GREEN