The waiting list for routine hospital treatment in England has risen for the first time in seven months, new figures show, in what will be a fresh blow to Rishi Sunak’s election campaign.
An estimated 7.57 million treatments were waiting to be carried out at the end of April, relating to 6.33 million patients – up slightly from 7.54 million treatments and 6.29 million patients at the end of March, NHS England said.
The list hit a record high in September 2023 with 7.77 million treatments and 6.50 million patients.
It comes after the prime minister insisted the NHS waiting list was coming down during a grilling on Sky News’s election debate on Wednesday.
“We’ve not made as much progress on cutting waiting lists as I would have liked,” Mr Sunak said during the debate.
“That was something that I was keen to do, and it has proved more difficult for a number of reasons, obviously recovering from a pandemic is not easy,” he said.
He faced groans and boos when he said: “I think everyone knows the impact the industrial action has had, that’s why we haven’t made as much (progress).”
When challenged by host Beth Rigby that the wait list had risen from 7.21 million in the time since he had vowed to tackle the problem in January 2023, Mr Sunak said: "Yes, yes it has, I'm being very clear about that. And now it's coming down because we are now, the plan is working."
Figures published by NHS England on Thursday show some 5,013 patients in England had been waiting more than 18 months to start routine treatment at the end of April, up from 4,770 in March.
The Government and NHS England 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.
There were 50,397 patients who had been waiting more than 65 weeks to start treatment at the end of April, up from 48,968 in March.
The target to eliminate all waits of over 65 weeks is now September 2024, having previously been March 2024.
Meanwhile, a total of 302,589 people in England had been waiting more than 52 weeks to start routine hospital treatment at the end of April, down from 309,300 at the end of March.
The Government and NHS England have set the ambition of eliminating all waits of more than a year by March 2025.
Commenting on the waiting list increase, Tim Gardner, assistant director of policy at think tank the Health Foundation, said: “With both Labour and the Conservatives promising big improvements in NHS waiting times, today’s figures are a stark reminder of the scale of the challenge facing the next government.
‘’To make good on manifesto pledges, whoever forms the next government needs to prioritise stable, long-term investment in the NHS to keep pace with demand and improve services for the future. This includes addressing staff shortages, modernising crumbling buildings, replacing outdated equipment and reforming the social care system. Without this, commitments to substantially cut waiting times are just empty promises.”
The rising waiting list comes as new figures show a record 2.4 million people attended A&E in May, while the number of patients admitted stood at 564,693 - the second-highest month on record after May 2024 when 567,456 admissions were recorded.
The number of people waiting more than 12 hours to be seen, treated or discharged after arriving in A&E last month hit, 145,094 - up from 138,658.
Professor Sir Stephen Powis, NHS National Medical Director, said: “As these figures show, demand for NHS services across the country remains high. May was a record month for urgent and emergency services, with the highest number of A&E attendances as well as being the busiest May for the most urgent ambulance call-outs, while staff delivered a record number of elective appointments for April.
“This is alongside viruses that are still causing concern, including whooping cough. Cases have been rising sharply in recent months, and there have sadly been eight infant deaths this year. We continue to urge all pregnant women to get vaccinated to help protect their babies in the first few weeks of their life, and ensure that their children get protected in the first few months after birth as part of the routine NHS vaccine offer.”
He said with junior doctors set to strike for five days from the end of June, the NHS is having to prepare for further disruption in the coming weeks.
The number of patients waiting at least four hours from the decision to admit to admission also increased, from 134,344 in April to 138,770 in May.
Some 74.0 per cent of patients in England were seen within four hours in A&Es last month, down from 74.4 per cent in April.
The NHS recovery plan set a target of March this year for 76 per cent of patients attending A&E to be admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours.
