Waiting lists for routine NHS treatment have grown for a third month running, although there are signs of improvement in cancer care figures.
The data shows that at the end of June there were around 7.62 million treatments awaiting completion in England, corresponding to 6.39 million patients, a slight increase from 7.60 million treatments and 6.37 million patients at the end of the previous month.
However, in June, the proportion of patients who waited no more than 62 days from an urgent referral for suspected cancer (or a specialty upgrade) to their first definitive cancer treatment was 67.4 percent, up from 65.8 percent in May. The target is 85 percent.
Meanwhile, 76.3 percent of patients referred urgently for suspected cancer in June were diagnosed or had cancer ruled out within 28 days.
This figure is slightly lower than the previous month’s 76.4 percent, but above the target of 75 percent. It is only the fourth time that the target has been exceeded since it was introduced in autumn 2021.
Waiting lists for routine NHS treatments have increased for a third consecutive month, although there are signs of improvement in cancer care figures. The data shows that at the end of June there were an estimated 7.62 million treatments waiting to be carried out in England (file image)
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: “It will take time to turn the NHS around, but we are working around the clock to get it working again and able to be there for all of us when we need it.”
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While the overall number of patients waiting for routine care has increased, the figures show a marked decline in the number of patients waiting for treatment. In June, some 2,621 patients had been waiting more than 18 months to start routine treatment, a marked decrease compared with 4,597 in May.
Other figures show that 75.2 per cent of patients in England were seen within four hours in A&E last month, up from 74.6 per cent in June and the highest level since September 2021. The NHS recovery plan set a target for March this year for 76 per cent of patients attending A&E to be admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the figures “confirm that 14 years of Tory neglect have left the NHS in ruins”.
He added: “It will take time to get the NHS back up and running, but we are working day and night to get it back up and running so it can be there for all of us when we need it.”
Professor Sir Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director, said: ‘A&E staff are under significant pressure and the NHS is in the midst of what could be its busiest summer on record, with a total of 4.6 million attendances in the past two months alone and 2024 having now seen the three busiest months for A&E on record.
Louise Ansari (pictured), chief executive of Healthwatch England, said: “We are concerned that the progress made in speeding up both cancer diagnosis and initiation of cancer treatment in recent months is slowing down.”
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‘While we have seen improvements in the number of patients seen and treated within four hours in A&E, slightly quicker ambulance response times and more than three-quarters of cancer patients receiving an all-clear or diagnosis within four weeks, it is clear that waits for patients across a range of services remain unacceptable and there is much more to be done to provide more timely care to those who need it.’
Louise Ansari, chief executive of Healthwatch England, said: ‘We are concerned that progress made in recent months to speed up both cancer diagnosis and initiation of cancer treatment is slowing down.
‘Despite some progress towards the referral target, the NHS is still a long way from its operational target of 85 per cent of patients waiting less than two months between an urgent referral and the start of treatment.
“Urgent action is needed to ensure that timely cancer diagnosis and treatment becomes the norm for all patients in England.”
