Waiting lists for routine hospital care in England have hit a record, in the latest blow to UK prime minister Rishi Sunak’s hopes that the backlog will be falling by the election expected next year.
About 7.7mn patients had yet to start treatment at the end of July, a rise of more than 100,000 compared with the end of June, according to figures published by NHS England on Thursday.
The number of people waiting more than 12 months increased from 383,083 to 389,952, while 7,289 patients were waiting more than 18 months, up from 7,177, underlining the health service’s continued failure to meet a target to eliminate all 18-month waits by April this year.