NHS waiting lists rose for the third month in a row in June as new Health Secretary Wes Streeting said “it will take time to turn it around”. England’s backlog hit 7.62million, up from 7.
6m in May, with nearly all of the progress made over winter now undone. The increase was baked in before Labour won the election but it puts the spotlight on the party’s pledge to fix the health service . NHS England said A&E departments are having their busiest summer on record with around 75,000 visits per day.
Saffron Cordery, of NHS Providers, added: “These figures reflect a really tough summer for the NHS.” Medical director Professor Stephen Powis said: “It is clear that waits for patients across a range of services remain unacceptable and there is much more to do. “Staff continue to work incredibly hard to deliver the best possible care.
” These statistics show the monumental task the government faces...
there are no quick fixes The waiting list fell from an all-time high of 7.77m in September to 7.54m in February but has since risen again.
Patient charities said cancer and heart disease patients are still enduring unacceptably long waits. NHS chiefs blamed the backslide partly on the junior doctors’ strikes, with three held so far this year. Most read in Health The most recent junior doctors' strike, for five days in June, was branded “irresponsible and dangerous” by then-health secretary, Victoria Atkins.
The NHS fears that the current GP industrial action is li.