Number of people in England waiting to start hospital treatment rises to new high

Ambulances in England took an average of 39 minutes and 33 seconds last month to respond to emergency calls such as heart attacks, strokes and sepsis. PA

The number of people in England waiting to start hospital treatment has risen to a new high, latest figures show.

In a double blow, ambulance response times for all types of emergencies have also got longer, including for life-threatening illnesses and injuries.

In its latest data, NHS England has also revealed that one in 10 people arriving at major A&E departments are having to wait more than 12 hours before being admitted, transferred or discharged.

It comes as around 47,000 junior doctors have been conducting a four-day strike over pay which has led to thousands of operations being rescheduled.

Latest figures show an estimated 7.22 million people were waiting to start routine hospital treatment at the end of February, up slightly from 7.21 million in January and the highest total since records began in 2007.

However, the number waiting more than a year-and-a-half for treatment has dropped from 45,631 to 29,778, a month-on-month fall of 35 per cent.

The government and NHS England have set the ambition of eliminating all waits of more than 18 months by April 2023, excluding exceptionally complex cases or patients who choose to wait longer.

Waits of more than 52 weeks are down from 379,245 in January to 362,498 in February, with a target for eliminating them completely by March 2025.

The average response time in March for ambulances dealing with the most urgent incidents was eight minutes and 49 seconds, up from eight minutes and 30 seconds in February and above the target standard response time of seven minutes.

Ambulances took an average of 39 minutes and 33 seconds last month to respond to emergency calls such as heart attacks, strokes and sepsis, up from 32 minutes and 20 seconds in February, while the target is 18 minutes.

This week hospitals expressed concerns about keeping patients safe as they struggle to secure cover for overnight junior doctor shifts during strikes.

The health service’s top doctor, Professor Sir Stephen Powis, has warned that the situation in the NHS will “become more challenging each day this strike progresses”.

During the strikes, staff who are still working have prioritised emergency and urgent care over some routine appointments and procedures to ensure safe care for those in life-threatening situations.

This means hundreds of thousands of appointments and operations have been rescheduled as a result.

In February, nurses and ambulance workers also took strike action.

“The last few months have been demanding for the NHS as record numbers of patients have come forward for care on top of hugely disruptive strike action," Prof Powis said.

“Today’s data shows demand on services is not relenting, with A&E attendances and ambulance call-outs in March recorded at the highest level so far this year – even higher than a very busy January.

“But amid the demand and industrial action, staff have progressed on key NHS priorities, with the number of people waiting the longest for elective care continuing to reduce while for the first time ever the NHS has also hit the faster diagnosis standard for cancer – with more patients getting a definitive diagnosis or the all-clear within 28 days.

“So while there is no let-up for services – and with almost 48 hours of strike action still to go – it remains as vital as ever that the public continue to come forward for care when they need it."

The British Medical Association has claimed junior doctors in England have seen a 26 per cent real-terms pay cut since 2008/09 because pay rises have been below inflation.