As of October, there were close to 250,000 people waiting for NHS treatment across five hospital trusts in the North East.
That's the NHS backlog. And it's replicated around the country, with a total of more than seven million people now waiting for NHS care. That's the most ever - and it's still rising. For many months NHS bosses have been working to find ways to get more patients through the doors and in for vital operations - especially as research has shown that the longer someone waits, the more pressure that puts on the wider health service.
Use our interactive graphics to explore how the five NHS trusts are faring - but keep in mind that each hospital trust cannot be directly compared with one another. For example, as a tertiary centre, the Newcastle Hospitals NHS trust takes complex patients in a range of specialities from around the region, and indeed around the UK.
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In the graphics below you can explore where patients have been waiting the longest, and for what kind of operations. But this is only part of the picture, with each NHS trust incredibly busy as they seek to combine treating ever-spiralling numbers of emergency cases in A&E with helping those who have been waiting for operations or procedures.
What this means?
Areas of concern include around ophthalmology - with both of the hospital trusts to offer this (Newcastle and South Tyneside and Sunderland) seeing thousands waiting for treatment. Other pressured specialities include dermatology and plastic surgery.
In dermatology at Newcastle Hospitals, the median wait is 18.7 weeks. That's one of the longest waiting times of any department at any of the five hospital trusts. The only to be longer are oral surgery at County Durham and Darlington (an average of 23.2 weeks) and waits for other mental health services at Gateshead (20.3 weeks).
As the NHS has moved from the pandemic "war footing" back to a business-as-usual approach, the priority has been to bring down waiting list times. The figures in these graphics illustrate how difficult this has been.
However, the first targets for bringing down the backlogs were to treat those who had been waiting the very longest - more than two years. Now, there are just 21 patients in the region who, in October, had been waiting two years.
All of these are trauma and orthopaedic cases at Newcastle Hospitals, and in some cases this is because they may have chosen to delay treatment themselves. The next target is to ensure no-one is waiting more than a year and a half.
Overall, across the North East, the waiting list has almost 50,000 people on it compared to a year ago. Though some people may be waiting for more than one procedure. Across the region, NHS bosses are transforming services, building new facilties and boosting overtime in an effort to bring down waiting times.
What hospital bosses have said about the backlog?
Earlier this winter, Dame Jackie Daniel - chief executive at Newcastle Hospitals - said: "It is true to say that our staff have gone through the most difficult period of their careers over the last few years and are undeniably tired. But many also tell me that they are still willing to undertake overtime and work flexibly if that means that they can support patients to access quicker care.
"It makes me very proud to know the lengths that people are prepared to go to, to make a difference.
"With this in mind, we have asked directorates to work together to develop bespoke plans to maximise activity and efficiency in outpatient clinics, the day treatment centre at the Freeman Hospital and theatres."
Sir James Mackey is her counterpart at the Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust. He is also NHS England's lead for the "elective recovery" - meaning waiting lists - around the country.
When, in August, NHS England revealed that two-year-waits had almost entirely been eliminated, he said: "From dedicated surgery hubs to increase the number of procedures carried out each day, to day case surgeries allowing people to recover in the comfort of their homes, and ensuring treatment transfers can happen for those patients prepared to travel, NHS staff are doing everything possible to bring down long waits for patients even further.
“We knew the waiting list would initially continue to grow as more people come forward for care who may have held off during the pandemic, but the NHS is determined to make the best possible use of the additional investment to address the backlogs and provide timely, expert care to as many people as possible, and virtually eliminating two year waits shows we are continuing to make good progress for patients."
What next?
With strike action from nurses and paramedics having seen thousands of appointments cancelled in the last week, the NHS's bid to bring down waiting lists will no doubt have taken a hit in December. However, with data published on a delay, the impact on waiting lists will only be clear come February.
NHS England's stated aim is to ensure no-one waits more than a year for treatment by 2025 and that no-one waits more than 18 months by April 2023. That will be the next key milestone.
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