The number of people on the NHS England waiting list for treatment hit neared a record 7.6 million for the first time in June.
This was up from 7.47 million as of the end of May and 7.21 million as of the end of January.
Among the 7,574,649 people awaiting treatment, 383,083 had been waiting more than a year, 97,275 were waiting more than 15 months, 7,177 people were waiting more than 18 months, and 314 had been stuck for more than two years.
At the end of June 2023, 59.2% of patients waiting to start treatment were waiting up to 18 weeks so were not meeting the 92% standard.
For patients waiting to start treatment at the end of June 2023, the median waiting time was 14.3 weeks.
Things will get worse before they get better
Brett Hill, head of health and protection at Broadstone, said that “despite increasingly urgent political rhetoric”, the “enormous” challenges facing the NHS were going to get worse before they get better.
“The backlog for treatment continues to grow month on month, which means more people will be waiting for diagnoses and treatment driving further deterioration in the health of the nation,” Hill continued.
“Of particular concern are waiting times for NHS cancer care.
“This is no longer just a public health issue but a huge social and economic problem that the government must deal with.
“Employers are grappling with lower productivity, increased absenteeism and staff shortages as ill-health feeds into corporate performance.
“We are consequently seeing growing demand from businesses across all private healthcare options from preventative options like virtual GPs and screening services through to company-funded private medical insurance and group risk cover.
“The health, or ill-health, of the nation is now a key priority for CEOs and we expect that to remain the case over the mid-term,” he added.
Significant strain
Siva Anandaciva, chief analyst at The King’s Fund, said the NHS was still under “significant strain” as many patients struggled to access services and called on government to think longer-term.
“Following on from the publication of the elective recovery taskforce report last week, today’s figures show that the elective waiting list has grown to 7.6 million, and 1.6 million people are waiting for a test or scan in England,” he said.
“As beneficial as the latest winter plan is to begin preparing for upcoming seasonal pressures, there needs to be a more strategic and long term approach to end the vicious cycle of short term interventions and poor performance all year round.
“That includes greater focus on prevention, implementing the NHS workforce plan and addressing the staffing crisis in social care, and improving access to care outside of hospital.”