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Waiting list for planned hospital treatment rises for second month in a row
The waiting list in England has increased due to higher patient demand, cancelled appointments from doctors' strikes, and challenges in meeting NHS treatment and emergency care targets.
- NHS England's July 2024 figures indicate that the number of patients awaiting elective hospital procedures increased for the second consecutive month, with 7.40 million treatments pending for 6.25 million individuals.
- This increase follows a longer-term upward trend, with 191,648 people waiting more than 52 weeks and 11,950 waiting more than 65 weeks for treatment in July.
- In July, urgent cancer referrals reached a new peak of 305,164, with 76.6% of those patients receiving a diagnosis or having cancer excluded within four weeks, slightly surpassing the 75% target.
- Ambulance average response times for emergency calls improved to 27 minutes and three seconds in August, the fastest since May 2021, against a government target of 30 minutes for 2025/26.
- Targets set for March 2026 aim to reduce the proportion of patients waiting over 52 weeks for treatment to below 1%, increase cancer diagnosis rates to 80%, and keep average ambulance response times around 30 minutes.
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Leaning Left1Leaning Right0Center9Last UpdatedBias Distribution90% Center
Bias Distribution
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C 90%
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