In October, over 30% of patients had to wait over four hours to be seen in A&E.
NHS England data indicate that a record number of patients waited at least four hours to be admitted to hospital A&E departments.
In October, the waiting list peaked at 150,922, up from 131,862 the previous month.
In October, more than 30% of patients had to wait more than four hours to be seen in A&E, including 45% of patients in Major A&Es (excluding minor injuries units and specialist centers).
Since 2015, the operational standard of admitting, transferring, or discharging at least 95% of A&E patients within four hours has not been met on a countrywide scale.
The number of people waiting more than 12 hours in England’s A&E departments between a decision to admit and actual admission has reached a new record high.
New NHS England data reveals that 43,792 patients waited more than 12 hours in October, a 34% increase over September’s 32,776 and the biggest number recorded since August 2010.
In England, the number of patients awaiting standard hospital treatment has also reached a new record high.
At the end of September, NHS England reported that 7 million individuals were awaiting treatment.
This is an increase from 7 million in August and the largest amount recorded since records began in August 2007.
Meanwhile, 401,537 patients have been waiting longer than a year to begin hospital treatment, up from 387,257 at the end of August and representing roughly one in every 18 persons on the waiting list.
NHS England reported that wait times of more than two years have decreased marginally, but the number of patients waiting 18 months for treatment has decreased by over 60% in one year.
The proportion at which cancer patients in England saw a specialist within two weeks of seeing their general practitioner has also reached a record low.
In September, general practitioners made 251,977 urgent cancer referrals, but only 72.6% were seen within two weeks.
In addition, approximately 6,000 cancer referral patients waited over two months to see a specialist.
The average response time to patients with life-threatening injuries outside of London was nine minutes and fifty-six seconds, which is nearly three minutes longer than the target response time of seven minutes.
The number of people in England waiting more than six weeks for a crucial diagnostic test reached its highest level in two years, according to new data.
In September, around 463,930 patients, or 29.8% of the total, had been waiting more than six weeks for one of 15 standard tests, such as MRI scans, non-obstetric ultrasounds, or gastroscopies.
This is an increase over the previous month’s total of 461,400 and the highest figure since August 2020, when 472,517 patients had been waiting for over six weeks.
NHS medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis stated, “There is no doubt that October has been a difficult month for staff, who are now facing a tripledemic of COVID, influenza, and record pressure on emergency services, with more people attending A&E or requiring the most urgent ambulance callouts than in any other October.
More than 13,000 no-longer-necessary hospital beds are occupied every day, putting a significant strain on emergency services.
“However, workers have kept their foot on the gas to reduce the backlog, with 18-month waits down by three-fifths from the previous year.
“We have always predicted that the total waiting list would expand as more people present themselves, and the NHS has a strategy in place for the winter months, including a new falls service, 24/7 war rooms, and more beds and call handlers.”
