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.
About a third of ambulance patients were also found to have waited 30 minutes or longer to be handed over to A&E teams last week – up from a quarter for the week ending November 26.
And 15 per cent of ambulance handovers in England last week were delayed by more than an hour, up from 9 per cent.
Royal College of Nursing England director Patricia Marquis warned there are “nowhere near enough” nursing staff to address the issue, with shortages on almost every shift and more than 40,000 vacancies.
She said: “With more than one in 10 people on the NHS waiting list, there is still no room at the inn.
“NHS capacity is at breaking point as patients are treated in corridors and backed up in ambulances.
“It’s undignified, unsafe, and behind the statistics are patients who will be suffering this Christmas.”
Ms Marquis said the government is “running out of time to turn this around,” adding: “Nursing staff won’t stomach being forced to deliver unsafe care, endlessly increasing demands and low pay.”
NHS Providers chief executive Sir Julian Hartley raised concerns about rising staff absences, adding: “We can’t afford for our workforce – grappling with over 121,000 shortages – to diminish further in the face of high demand.”
He called for the government and unions to resolve their industrial disputes.
Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said it was unacceptable for the government to have “left the NHS facing strikes for the second Christmas in a row, for which patients will pay the price.”
Questioned on whether he had failed on the government’s pledge to cut NHS waiting lists by the end of the year, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said progress has been made and blamed strikes for difficulties.
