NHS waiting list in England rises to record 7.7m

A grounds 7.68 cardinal radical are connected a infirmary waiting database successful England, figures show.

The full represents 1 successful 7 radical successful the UK and is simply a leap of much than 100,000 successful a month.

The rising fig means the premier minister's pledge to bring down waiting lists is nether threat. The authorities has blamed strikes for adding to the pressures facing the NHS.

It comes arsenic ministers person announced an other £200m for the NHS this winter.

It is connected apical of a £250m boost already announced earlier successful the summer, which is helping wage for 5,000 other infirmary beds and 10,000 virtual beds wherever patients are supported astatine location by doctors for conditions specified arsenic respiratory and bosom problems that would usually pb to a infirmary admission.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay said helium wanted to spot "high impact" interventions to assistance the NHS get done winter.

On the waiting list, which covers radical needing regular treatments specified arsenic genu and hep operations, helium said the strikes were having an impact, driving up the numbers and "harming" patients.

Close to 1 cardinal appointments and treatments that person had to beryllium postponed since concern enactment began successful the NHS successful December.

But Mr Barclay pointed retired advancement had been made, arsenic the agelong waits of implicit 18 months were adjacent to being eliminated - conscionable implicit 7,000 radical person waited that long.

However, those waiting implicit 12 months are climbing.

Next week volition spot inferior doctors and consultants successful England locomotion retired astatine the aforesaid clip for the archetypal clip successful the past of the NHS.

Consultants volition instrumentality onslaught enactment connected Tuesday and Wednesday, portion inferior doctors commencement their three-day walkout connected Wednesday.

Emergency attraction volition beryllium staffed throughout.

BMA person Prof Philip Banfield said: "If the wellness caput truly wants to enactment the NHS past his adjacent measurement should beryllium to re-open talks with doctors and travel to the array with a credible connection to enactment an extremity to strikes and to show helium does truly attraction astir our patients."