COVID-19: Record high hospital waiting list in England as 5.1m need treatment

The number of people in England waiting to start routine hospital treatment has reached a new record high.

Some 5.12 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of April 2021 – the highest number since records began in August 2007.

NHS England figures show the number of people having to wait longer than 52 weeks to start treatment is around 35 times higher than those waiting a year earlier.

Just over 11,000 people had to wait more than a year to begin treatment in April 2020.

But in April this year the number stood at 385,490 – down from 436,127 in the previous month.

It comes days after MPs warned NHS and social care staff burnout has reached an “emergency” level and poses a risk to the future of services – as former health secretary Jeremy Hunt said healthcare staff are facing “unacceptable pressure” at work.

Almost 210,000 urgent cancer referrals were made by GPs in England in April 2021 – more than double the 80,031 made a year earlier, the data showed.

The equivalent figure for April 2019 was 199,217.

Meanwhile A&E hospital admissions in England have arisen 65% compared to a year ago, NHS England said – but this is said to be a reflection of lower than usual numbers for May 2020 due to the pandemic.

A total of 2.08 million attendances were recorded in May 2021, up from 1.26 million in May 2020.

The equivalent figure for May 2019, a non-pandemic year, was 2.17 million.