NHS: Six million people in England waiting to start routine treatment, record high

The number of people in England waiting to start routine hospital treatment has risen to a new record high.

A total of 5.98 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of October 2021, according to figures from NHS England.

This is the highest number since records began in August 2007.

The number of people having to wait more than 52 weeks to start treatment stood at 312,665 in October 2021, up from 300,566 in the previous month and nearly double the number waiting a year earlier, in October 2020, which was 167,067.

Attendances at hospital A&E departments in England last month were 37% higher than a year ago, NHS England figures show – although this reflects lower-than-usual numbers for November 2020, which were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

A total of 2.0 million attendances were recorded in November 2021, up from 1.5 million in November 2020.

The equivalent figure for November 2019, a non-pandemic year, was 2.1 million.

The average response time last month for ambulances in England dealing with the most urgent incidents – defined as calls from people with life-threatening illnesses or injuries – was nine minutes and 10 seconds, NHS England figures show.

This is down slightly from nine minutes and 20 seconds in October, which was the longest average response time since current records began in August 2017.