A record number of people – more than 5.45 million – are waiting for NHS hospital treatment in England.
The June figures show a mixed picture – with the numbers waiting more than 18 weeks or a year both down, but a rise in those waiting more than two years.
Many have joined the waiting list in recent weeks, as more people are referred for treatment.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the government would look at “what more we need to do” for the NHS.
NHS England’s Prof Stephen Powis said the summer had seen some of the highest numbers ever coming forward for care.
And he said the health service had made “effective use” of the additional resources it had been given to address the Covid backlog.
The data published today also shows:
- The number waiting to start treatment is the highest it has been since records began in August 2007
- 5.45 million waiting for procedures – up from 5.3 million in May
- 2.16 million people were treated in A&E departments in July compared with 2.15 million in June
- Ambulances across England answered more than a million calls in July – and waiting times were the longest since a new way of logging calls was introduced in 2017
But in signs of progress, the number of patients waiting longer than 18 weeks for care has dropped by almost 25,000 to 1.7 million.
The number having to wait more than a year to start treatment was 304,803 in June – down from 336,733 the previous month.