More than 150,000 people are on the waiting lists for appointments at a collection of Greater Manchester's hospitals.
Some 12,724 people have been waiting more than a year for their appointment at hospitals within Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, and 1,730 people have been waiting longer than two years at the end of November 2021, according to the latest figures released by the NHS.
The data comes as waiting lists have also been building for surgeries, after Greater Manchester health leaders announced that the majority of surgeries - apart from those most urgent and cancer operations - were to be paused at the beginning of January.
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Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) is the largest NHS trust in the country, including North Manchester General, Manchester Royal Infirmary, Wythenshawe Hospital, the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, the Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, Saint Mary's Hospital, the University Dental Hospital, Withington Community Hospital, Trafford General, and Altrincham Hospital.
The trust's waiting list now reaching 153,859 means it is the second highest in England and Wales - though it's large footprint, with among the highest patient numbers in the country, gives way to inherently increased numbers on waiting lists.
This week, Mayor Andy Burnham announced that the elective work which had been suspended, including 'non-urgent surgeries and appointments' at 17 of the region's hospitals, will be resuming.
But as the Omicron wave continues to hit the NHS, with up to 15 per cent of staff going off ill with Covid-19, or isolating, waiting lists are still climbing for patients across the health system.
In March 2020, at the outbreak of the Covid pandemic, there were 4,235,970 people on the NHS waiting list in England, then a record high.
Nationally, the standard of 92 per cent of people seen within 18 weeks of a referral has not been met since 2016.
Now, 1 in every 9 people in England are on the NHS waiting list, says Afzal Khan, MP for Manchester, Gorton.
The MP has called on action from the government as a 'chronic shortage of GPs, doctors, nurses and social care staff has seen the NHS going into the latest wave of Covid infections with the longest waiting list ever' and 'hospitals around the country are reporting unsustainable pressure and an inability to provide high quality care'.
“People in Manchester Gorton are being forced to wait months and even years for treatment, often in pain and discomfort," said the MP. "It is unacceptable and will have appalling consequences for patients.
“Our local health care staff at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust worked heroically throughout the pandemic, but they are now stretched like never before.
“The government must give us the staff and support Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust needs to get through this winter and to get patients seen on time."
A spokesperson for Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust said: “We very much appreciate the praise for our incredible staff from Afzal Khan MP. Our teams have been working very hard, over many months, to ensure that we see as many patients as possible, as quickly as possible. Naturally, as the biggest trust in the country, running 10 hospitals as well as clinical and community services, our headline patient numbers will always be much higher than those for a small district general hospital.
“We understand the difficulties which COVID-19 has created for all our patients, and we continue to make every effort to reduce our waiting lists while prioritising our most seriously ill patients.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “The NHS continues to face significant pressures and hard-working staff are keeping key services running throughout these difficult winter months.
“We’re supporting healthcare services with record investment with £5.4 billion for this winter, including £700 million to expand wards and surgery theatres and £478 million to safely help patients leave hospital.
“On top of this, we have struck a deal with the independent sector to provide extra super surge capacity with thousands of new beds if needed.”
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