Pandemic sees the number of patients waiting more than 18 weeks for routine treatment at hospitals soar

Experts warn the “body blow” inflicted to NHS services by the Covid-19 pandemic means patients could face long waits for months or even years to come.

Patients referred for non-urgent, consultant-led elective care should start treatment within 18 weeks, according to NHS rules.

But new data from the health service shows 65,700 patients on the waiting list for elective operations or treatment at hospitals across the Black Country and Staffordshire at the end of June had been waiting longer.

And almost half – 45 per cent – of patients on the list had been waiting longer than 18 weeks this June, compared to only 12 per cent in June 2019.

Cancelled

Trusts are normally expected to make sure no more than eight per cent of patients are left waiting beyond the 18-week maximum target.

But the thousands of procedures cancelled to free up hospitals during the coronavirus pandemic has created a huge backlog across England.

Nationally, 1.9 million people were still waiting for treatment after 18 weeks in June – the most for any month since records began in 2007.

At 48 per cent of those on the waiting list, it was also the worst performance on record.

More than 50,000 had been on the list for more than a year nationally, compared to around 1,000 a year earlier.

Gbemi Babalola, senior analyst at the King's Fund, said the virus has “dealt a body blow to NHS and social care services”.

“The sheer scale of pent up demand for healthcare services, and the ongoing challenges facing staff during the pandemic, mean there is a long and difficult road ahead,” she added.

“Health and care leaders are already bracing for an intense winter spike in demand, and patients should expect long waits for care to continue for many months and maybe years to come.”