NHS waiting list rises for third consecutive month

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Mr Streeting said: “These figures confirm that 14 years of Conservative neglect left the NHS broken, waiting lists rising, and patients failed. Nobody in the NHS wants to see patients experiencing long delays and we are committed to working with the Government to create a 10-year plan for health that includes a clear plan to bring waits down Prof Sir Stephen Powis Professor Sir Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director, said: “A&E staff are under significant pressure and the NHS is in the middle of what could be its busiest summer ever, with a total of 4.6 million attendances in the last two months alone and 2024 now having seen the three busiest months for A&E on record. “While we have seen improvements in the number of patients seen and treated within four hours in A&E, slightly faster ambulance response times, and more than three quarters of cancer patients receiving an all clear or diagnosis in four weeks, it is clear that waits for patients across a range of services remain unacceptable and there is much more to do to deliver more timely care for those who need it. “Nobody in the NHS wants to see patients experiencing long delays and we are committed to working with the Government to create a 10-year plan for health that includes a clear plan to bring waits down.” Reacting to the data, Danielle Jefferies, senior analyst at think tank The King’s Fund, said: “These figures are a stark reminder that the pressure in the NHS is not going away as it grapples with ongoing industrial action, tight public finances, and a rise in the number of beds occupied by patients with Covid-19.