More than 50,000 patients waiting for treatment at York hospital trust

The data from NHS England shows 50,375 patients were waiting for non-urgent elective operations or treatment at York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust at the end of December 2022 – up from 49,630 in November, and 36,892 in December 2021.

Of those waiting, 4,446 had been waiting for longer than a year.

The median waiting time from referral to treatment at York Hospital was 17 weeks at the end of December – up from 16 weeks in November.

Speaking on the figures, a spokesperson for the York trust said: “In April 2020, like the rest of the NHS, we were asked to suspend all non-urgent elective surgery to help the service deal with the Covid-19 pandemic.

"The ongoing impact means that patients requiring routine appointments or procedures are waiting much longer than we would normally expect, or want, as we work to tackle the backlog.

"We are sorry for the inconvenience and distress that this causes for patients.”

Nationally, seven million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of December.

Figures show 50,375 patients were waiting for non-urgent elective operations in York (Image: Newsquest)

The figures show that 14,690 patients were waiting for one of 14 standard tests, such as an MRI scan, non-obstetric ultrasound or gastroscopy at York Hospital during December. Of them, 8,008 had been waiting for at least six weeks.

The NHS also states 85 per cent of cancer patients urgently referred by a GP should start treatment within 62 days.

But NHS England data shows just 49 per cent of patients urgently referred by the NHS who received cancer treatment at York Hospital in December began treatment within two months of their referral.

That was down from 53 per cent in November and 72 per cent in December 2021.

The Society for Acute Medicine, which represents doctors, called the national figures "shocking" - but said they would not come as a surprise for those working in front line care.

Dr Tim Cooksley, president of the organisation, said: “Urgent workforce plans are needed to stop the current haemorrhaging of staff and attract skilled staff who have left back into the profession.

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“A sustainable long-term urgent and emergency care plan is also needed to engender a belief in patients and staff that the situation can improve."

A new report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) suggests waiting lists are unlikely to fall significantly in 2023.

The IFS said while "real progress" had been made in eliminating waits of two years or more, it would require a "truly remarkable" increase in treatment rates for waiting lists to drop.

Max Warner, a research economist at the think tank, said: "To turn things around would require unprecedented double-digit growth in treatment volumes over the next two years."