THE NHS waiting list has hit another record high of nearly 7.7million people.
Some 7.68million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of July, up from 7.57million in June, NHS England said.
It is the highest number since records began in August 2007.
The surge comes despite Rishi Sunak making cutting waiting lists a priority for 2023, pledging in January that “lists will fall and people will get the care they need more quickly”.
Some 7,289 people in England are estimated to have been waiting more than 18 months to start routine hospital treatment at the end of July, up from 7,177 at the end of June.
The Government and NHS England set the ambition of eliminating all waits of more than 18 months by April this year, excluding exceptionally complex cases or patients who choose to wait longer.
A total of 389,952 people in England had been waiting more than 52 weeks to start routine hospital treatment at the end of July, up from 383,083 at the end of June.
The Government and NHS England have set the ambition of eliminating all waits of more than a year by March 2025.
However, 65-week waits have dropped to 96,722, down 59 per cent on their peak.
The NHS aims to eliminate all of these by March 2024.
Hospitals faced their busiest ever summer for A&E, with more than 6.5million patients in June, July, and August.
Professor Julian Redhead, of NHS England, said: “Today’s figures show that despite ongoing pressures across the NHS, staff are continuing to deliver for patients.
“But even as we talk about a summer of record demand we have already been preparing for winter, and the improvements seen in today’s data show the hard work of staff is already paying off.
“Alongside expanding the use of out-of-hospital care – such as more virtual ward beds – and the rollout of our winter vaccination programme, we are doing all we can to prepare ahead of what has the potential to be another challenging winter with Covid and flu.
“As ever, the public can also play their part by getting your winter vaccines when invited and use services in the usual way – 999 in an emergency and NHS111 online for other health conditions.”
Wes Streeting, Labour’s shadow health secretary, said: “Record numbers of patients are waiting unacceptably long, whether it’s for an operation, ambulance, or in A&E.
“For millions of patients across England, the NHS is no longer there for them when they need it.
“On the NHS, Rishi Sunak is inaction man, refusing to meet with doctors to end NHS strikes and adding to the NHS backlog, leaving patients waiting for months in pain and agony.”
