See how long Wigan patients waited for routine hospital treatment in August and if targets are being met for cancer referrals
Tens of thousands of patients were waiting for routine treatment at Wigan hospitals in August, figures show.
And while the local statistics haven’t changed much in recent months, they came out s the waiting list across England for planned treatment increased for the third consecutive month.
NHS England figures show 49,337 patients were waiting for non-urgent elective operations or treatment at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust (WWL) at the end of August – up from 48,840 in July, but a decrease on 55,359 in Aug 2024.
Of those, 1,881 (four per cent) had been waiting for longer than a year.
The median waiting time from referral at an NHS Trust to treatment at WWL facilities was 15 weeks at the end of August – the same as in July.
Nationally, an estimated 7.4 million treatments were waiting to be carried out at the end of August, relating to 6.2 million patients, broadly in line with the end of July.
The list hit a record high in September 2023, with 7.8 million treatments and 6.5 million patients.
And nearly three per cent of people on the waiting list for hospital treatment had been waiting more than 52 weeks in August, in line with the month before.
The Government and NHS England are aiming to bring this figure to under one per cent by next March.
Danielle Jefferies, senior analyst at The King’s Fund, warned the "green shoots of NHS recovery remain fragile" and the figures "demonstrate how shaky wider efforts to tackle waiting lists are".
She said: "Patients are still confronted with lengthy waiting times, slower than anticipated ambulance response times, and crowded hospitals.
"Regularly missed targets for various indicators across NHS services are now a predictable occurrence each month, and it’s clear that there is a long road ahead to get the NHS back on its feet."
Separate figures show 1.7 million patients in England were waiting for a key diagnostic test in August – the same as in July.
At WWL hospitals, 14,501 patients were waiting for one of 14 standard tests, such as an MRI scan, non-obstetric ultrasound or gastroscopy at this time.
Of them, 5,598 (39 per cent) had been waiting for at least six weeks.
Other figures show WWL cancer patients are not being seen quickly enough to hit the national target.
The NHS states 85 per cent of cancer patients urgently referred by a GP should start treatment within 62 days.
But NHS England data shows just 68 per cent of patients urgently referred by the NHS who received cancer treatment Wigan hospitals in August began treatment within two months of their referral.
That was down from 69 per cent in July.
Chief executive of NHS Providers, Daniel Elkeles said: "NHS staff have worked incredibly hard over the summer delivering more tests, more checks and more treatment - but the demand for care just keeps on growing.
"We can’t go on like this. We need to do more to prevent illness and catch problems before they get worse."
He added: "The NHS has plans in place to deal with the pressures, but the public can play their part as well.
"It’s really important that people who are eligible get themselves vaccinated as a vital line of defence against the winter bugs."