The number of people waiting over a year for NHS treatment has risen while progress tackling overall waits has stalled, official figures reveal.
Health analysts warned the waiting list in England remains ‘stubbornly high’, with millions of people left in pain or unable to work.
Figures from NHS England show the backlog for routine hospital treatment was unchanged in March, following five consecutive monthly falls.
An estimated 7.54 million treatments were waiting to be carried out at the end of the month, relating to 6.29 million patients, the same numbers as in February.
The list hit a record high in September 2023 with 7.77 million treatments and 6.50 million patients.
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Other data published today shows a mixed picture, with success in the number of people seen for a cancer diagnosis, but waits of over a year for treatment rising.
Siva Anandaciva, chief analyst at the King’s Fund, a health think tank, said: ‘As the NHS comes out of a tough winter, it is encouraging to see some green shoots in today’s statistics which show that improvements have been made in several key measures of cancer care.
‘In March, 77 per cent of people had their cancer diagnosed or ruled out within 28 days of referral, surpassing the national target of 75 per cent.
‘But the road ahead to make further progress in recovering performance in other areas of the NHS, including reducing lengthy waiting times for planned care and A&E, will be long.
‘The hospital waiting list remains stubbornly high at 7.5 million in March, representing 6.3 million people waiting, often in pain or unable to work, for treatment.
‘A&E departments also continue to be under extreme strain as we head towards summer, with over 2.2 million attendances in April, and only 74 per cent of people being seen within four hours.’
The proportion of patients in England waiting no longer than 62 days in March from an urgent suspected cancer referral or consultant upgrade to their first definitive treatment for cancer was 68.7 per cent, up from 63.9 per cent in February. The target is 85 per cent.
GPs in England made 254,594 urgent cancer referrals in March, up slightly from 253,025 in February but down year on year from 260,560 in March 2023.
Health secretary Victoria Atkins said: ‘NHS staff are working tirelessly to cut the waiting list and today’s data shows the biggest six-month reduction in over 10 years outside of the pandemic.
‘This is a significant achievement in the context of record pressures and strikes, with NHS analysis showing the list could have fallen by an extra 430,000 since December 2022 without industrial action.
‘We’ve also delivered on our target of ensuring over 75 per cent of patients tested for cancer receive a diagnosis or all clear within 28 days of referral – giving patients the all-clear or a diagnosis sooner.’
Some 309,300 people in England had been waiting more than 52 weeks to start routine hospital treatment at the end of March, up from 305,050 at the end of February.
The Government and NHS England have set the ambition of eliminating all waits of more than a year by March 2025.
There were 48,968 patients who had been waiting more than 65 weeks to start treatment at the end of March, down from 75,004 in February.
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The target to eliminate all waits of over 65 weeks has now been moved to September 2024, having previously been March 2024.
Wes Streeting, Labour’s shadow health secretary, said: ‘The Conservatives have failed to meet their pledge to end waits of more than 65 weeks and waiting lists are not falling.
‘Rishi Sunak has broken every pledge he’s ever made on the NHS, causing patients to wait for months in pain and discomfort as a result.’
Daisy Cooper, the Liberal Democrat’s health spokesperson, said: ‘Rishi Sunak would be utterly deluded to think that this is a NHS in recovery.
‘Far too many are still waiting in pain, not knowing if they will get the treatment they need in time.
‘It is an unacceptable situation.’
NHS national medical director, Professor Sir Stephen Powis, said: ‘Today’s figures show just how hard NHS staff are working to deliver the best possible care for patients despite ongoing significant demand and a difficult recovery journey.’
