NHS waiting list falls as Streeting says health service ‘on road to recovery’

The waiting list for routine hospital treatment in England has fallen slightly, with Health Secretary Wes Streeting saying the NHS is “now on the road to recovery”.

The overall waiting list for planned treatment rose in June, July and August but new figures show it fell in September.

An estimated 7.39 million treatments were waiting to be carried out at the end of September, relating to 6.24 million patients, down from 7.41 million treatments and 6.25 million patients at the end of August.

The list hit a record high in September 2023, with 7.77 million treatments and 6.50 million patients.

Of those waiting in September this year, 61.8% of patients had been waiting less than 18 weeks.

This is the highest proportion since June 2022 (62.3%) – and the highest for more than three years – but falls short of the 92% target set by the Government for the end of this Parliament.

Mr Streeting said: “Thanks to the investment and modernisation this Government has made, waiting lists are falling and patients are being treated sooner.

“We are cutting waste to reinvest billions over the coming years in frontline care – less unnecessary bureaucracy and more services for patients.

“And at the Budget the Chancellor is protecting investment in the NHS, to rebuild after more than a decade of decline.

“The past year is the first time in 15 years that waiting lists have fallen. There’s a long way to go, but the NHS is now on the road to recovery.”

NHS England said A&E attendances and ambulance incidents were both a record for the month of October.

It also said 14.4 million flu vaccines have been delivered so far this autumn, some 160,000 more than at the same point last year.

More than one million people have come forward for flu jabs in the past week after a vaccination “SOS” was issued last week by the health service amid an early rise in flu cases this year.

Meanwhile, thousands of resident doctors across England are preparing to strike for five days from 7am on Friday.

On a visit to Paddington Community Diagnostic Centre in Liverpool on Thursday, Mr Streeting described strikes as “reckless and irresponsible”, and said his “door remains open” to the British Medical Association (BMA) for any last-minute talks to avert the walkouts.

He told the PA news agency: “I think it is so reckless and irresponsible for resident doctors to be out on strike over the coming days, not least because we’ve shown, and I’ve shown, this is a Government and a Health Secretary that wants to work with resident doctors to improve their pay, to improve the conditions they’re working in, and to improve their career prospects.”

He added: “The worst thing is that, because they’re choosing to take this course, there will be disruption for patients. This is going to put pressure on other NHS staff, and there’s enough to cope with, with winter coming too.

“So this is the wrong tactic at the wrong time, and I urge the BMA to think again, but for now, although my door remains open to them if they want any last-ditch conversations, my focus right now is making sure that we’re ready for strikes, minimising the disruption.”

Professor Meghana Pandit, NHS national medical director, said “there’s no doubt NHS staff will be approaching their limits this winter”.

“Flu is peaking early and looking like it will be long-lasting, while industrial action starting on Friday comes on the back of the busiest October in A&E in NHS history,” she said.

She added: “People should also use NHS 111 for non-urgent help, and call 999 or visit A&E for life-threatening emergencies – including during upcoming industrial action.”

The data on Thursday also shows 180,329 people in England had been waiting more than a year to start routine hospital treatment at the end of September, down from 190,549 at the end of August.

Figures also show 1,489 patients in England are estimated to have been waiting more than 18 months to start routine hospital treatment at the end of September, up slightly from 1,418 in August.

Tim Gardner, assistant director of policy at the Health Foundation, said the waiting list figures “present a challenging outlook for the NHS, particularly as it heads into what NHS leaders have warned is likely to be one of the toughest winters the health service has faced”.

He added that “restoring the 18-week standard by the end of this parliament remains a tall order”.

However, Mr Streeting told PA: “There were loads of people saying ‘you’ll never be able to do that’, and yet since we’ve come into office, we’ve turned the tide. We got waiting lists falling for the first time in 15 years.

“They’re down by almost a quarter of a million and even some of our critics are conceding that on current trajectories, we can hit that target.

“So it’s not going to be easy, but it’s precisely because it isn’t easy and because it is hard that this really matters, and that’s why I’m moving heaven and earth to make sure that we succeed.”

Daniel Elkeles, chief executive, NHS Providers, said: “Hard work by NHS staff is paying off with waiting lists down and ambulance response times to emergency calls falling too but A&Es and ambulances are stretched to the limit, with long waits up, feeling the heat from soaring demand.

“NHS trust leaders and staff right across the NHS – in hospital, community, mental health and ambulance services – are working flat out to see patients as quickly as they can and to cut waiting lists.”

Patricia Marquis, executive director of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), said: “The slight fall in waiting lists, while positive, won’t spare patients and nursing staff another disastrous winter.

“Tortuous waits of 12 hours or longer are a clear sign of corridor care and they are skyrocketing, with tens of thousands more A&E attendances than this time last year.”