Record 7 million people awaiting hospital treatment, says NHS England

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The number of people waiting for an appointment with the NHS in England has topped 7 million for the first time in August.

Other unwelcome records were recorded elsewhere, with 56.9% of patients attending major A&Es in September were seen within four hours, a record low.

Just 72.9% of patients received their first treatment for cancer within two months after seeing a consultant while one-month waits for radiotherapy also reached a new low at 90.5% of patients against a target of 94%. The service failed to meet seven out of eight of its stated cancer targets.

The latest data, covering August or September depending on the metric, shows that the NHS is under increasing pressure even before winter begins. There are currently 10,522 patients in hospital with Covid, double the number seen last month (4,630 on 13 September). On Wednesday, the NHS warned that hospitals in England may be forced to cancel operations to protect their stocks because of staff shortages.

Delays in discharging patients into the community and social care was putting additional pressure on bed capacity: in September, just 40% of patients were discharged when they were ready.

The service pointed to successes elsewhere, saying the number of people waiting 18 months for treatment continues to fall and was almost 60% lower in August as compared with the same month last year (121,711) and noting that 255,055 people were checked after an urgent GP referral in August – the highest number since records began.

Prof Sir Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director, said the service was preparing “for a difficult winter ahead” and urged people to come forward for Covid and flu vaccinations.

“Winter preparations don’t stop at vaccinations, and NHS services are gearing up to manage higher demand including increasing the number of beds and emergency call handlers, so it is vital that the public continue to come forward for the medical help they need,” he added.