Record 6.5 Million On NHS Waiting Lists, Including 51,744 At Royal Berkshire Hospital

New figures published by NHS England reveal a record 6.5 million people are stuck on hospital waiting lists. In Reading and the surrounding area, 51,744 are waiting for treatment at Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust.

At the outbreak of the Covid pandemic, following a decade of Tory mismanagement there were already 4.4 million people on the NHS waiting list in England, then a record high.

Nationally, the standard of 92% of people seen within 18 weeks of a referral has not been met since 2016. Only 58.2% of people were seen within 18 weeks of referral at Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust.

More than 1 in every 9 people in England are now on the NHS waiting list.

Reading Labour’s John Ennis, Lead Councillor for Adult Social Care on Reading Borough Council, said:

“Too many people in Reading are waiting too long for treatment on the NHS. That’s not good enough, and it’s ruining people’s lives.

“The Government cannot blame this on the pandemic. After a decade of Conservative mismanagement, the NHS went into the pandemic with staff shortages and record waiting lists.

“The truth is simple and plain to see – this government is delivering chaos and queues as far as the eye can see. Whether it’s passports, driving licences, airports, courts or healthcare, the Conservatives are turning this country into Backlog Britain.

“We need a real plan to get waiting lists under control. The last Labour government reduced waiting times from 18 months to 18 weeks. The next Labour government will secure the future of our NHS, providing the staff it needs to treat patients on time.”

Notes

1. A spreadsheet format of the full data is available from NHS England here: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/Download-Waiting-Times-by-Hospital-Trust-Apr22-XLS-10435K-57873.xls.

2. At Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, 51,744 people are waiting for treatment. 58.2% of patients were seen within 18 weeks of referral, against the NHS England target of 92%.

3. According to the latest figures across England:

• Total patients waiting for treatment in April 2022 = 6,482,063. Of which, 2,484,623 patients were waiting more than 18 weeks (of which 323,093 patients were waiting more than 52 weeks and 12,735 patients were waiting more than 104 weeks).
• Total patients waiting for treatment in February 2020 = 4,197,573. Of which, 1,007,161 patients were waiting more than 18 weeks.
• Total patients waiting for treatment in April 2012 = 2,330,751. Of which, 158,540 patients were waiting more than 18 weeks.

April 2012 is the point at which the figures were first collected in this format.