BREAKING: The NHS waiting list for treatment has hit seven million people for the first time ever, as A&E trolley waits also hit a record high.
Waiting lists for routine hospital treatment on the NHS are now the longest ever recorded.
Meanwhile, the number waiting more than 12 hours in A&E even after there had been a decision to admit them to hospital hit 32,776 people in September.Only 71% of patients in England were seen within four hours at A&Es last month, the joint-worst performance on record. Meanwhile, 69.5% of patients urgently referred for suspected cancer were diagnosed or had cancer ruled out within 28 days in August, down from 71.1% the previous month and the second-worst performance in records going back to April 2021.
Some 461,400 patients, 30.5% of the total, were waiting longer than six weeks for one of 15 standard tests in August, including an MRI scan, non-obstetric ultrasound or gastroscopy.