New figures show the NHS waiting list has reached a record high.
A total of 5.3 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of May 2021-that’s the highest number since records began back in August 2007.
Shadow health secretary, Jonathan Ashworth, said: “More than five million people on the waiting list means record numbers waiting in pain or distress for treatment.
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“We know that hospitals are already under extreme pressure this summer and as Covid cases continue to rise, this is only going to get worse.
This news comes after NHS Providers chief executive Chris Hopson said there were risks if England eases all coronavirus restrictions later this month.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We need to be realistic and we need to be open and honest about the fact that there are risks if we relax these restrictions and there will be consequences.
“The NHS won’t be able to do everything given the demand pressures it has got and the fact that we have got reduced capacity in terms of both beds and staff numbers.”
He said there would be “very significant” pressure on the NHS and “we will have to dial back on elective recovery”.
The data shows the NHS is currently making progress on the long waiting list, with the number of patients having to wait more than 52 weeks to start treatment standing at 336,733 in May 2021 – down almost 50,000 from 385,490 the previous month.
The figure is around 13 times the number waiting a year earlier, in May 2020, which was 26,029.
However, there is some good news with figures also showing that the number of people being admitted to hospital for surgery or routine procedures is getting back to the levels they were before the pandemic.
The data shows the number of people being admitted to hospital for routine treatment in May was 242,064 – that’s more than four times the number from a year earlier (54,550)
Before the pandemic hit, the NHS admitted 295,881people for routine procedures in May 2019.
NHS medical director Professor Stephen Powis said: “Despite the huge disruption we have seen to care caused by the pandemic and the more than 405,000 Covid patients in our hospitals over the last 15 months, it is reassuring to see in today’s figures significant reductions in waits for routine operations, and for the first time this year, a reduction in the number of patients waiting more than 18 weeks for treatment.
“All the while, NHS staff have dealt with rising numbers of A&E attendances while continuing to roll out the NHS Covid vaccination programme and I would urge anyone who needs a routine operation to come forward, and anyone who needs urgent care to go to NHS 111 online or call 111 so that the best option for you can be determined.”
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