Rising NHS waiting list reveals ‘huge mountain’ to climb to fix ‘broken’ health service

NHS waiting lists have reached their highest level this year at 7.6 million.

The second consecutive monthly increase is a setback for hospitals and shows that the new Government has a mountain to climb to fix the “broken” health service.

Doctors also said they had their busiest June ever in the emergency room, with 2.3 million visitors and extra stress from the heat wave and doctors’ strikes.

National Health Service England’s chief medical officer, Prof Sir Stephen Powis, admitted: “Everyone recognizes that waiting times are currently far from what the public have a right to expect.”

Figures show that the number of people waiting for treatment increased from 6.29 million in March to 6.38 million in May.

The number decreased between September and March, but recovered.

The new government has a difficult road ahead

Professor Vivien LeesThe Royal College of Surgeons of England

Meanwhile, the NHS continued to miss targets of seeing people quickly in A&E and starting cancer treatment on time.

It comes as new Health Secretary Wes Streeting announces a “warts-all” audit of NHS performance.

Sarah Scobie, from the Nuffield Trust think tank, said: “These figures underline the huge uphill battle the new government faces to get the NHS back on track.”

The Health Foundation said they were “a stark reminder of the enormous mountain to be climbed”.

Professor Vivien Lees, from the Royal College of Surgeons, said: “The new government has a tough road ahead to reduce NHS waiting times as promised.

“Hundreds of thousands of patients have been on waiting lists for months and even years.

“They will be hopeful that plans for the NHS outlined during the election will be put into action quickly.”