This story was first published in digitalhealth.net
Waiting times highest since 2008
NHS England figures have shown that the number of patients in England waiting longer than 18 weeks for routine treatment is the largest since September 2008.
In April this year, 382,000 patients of a total of 3.78 million on the waiting list waited longer than the target timeframe, while the four hour A&E waiting times and 62-day cancer treatment targets were also continuing to struggle.
The Royal College of Surgeons expects the situation to get worse before it gets better, with A&E and cancer waiting tines likely to get prioritised over routine treatments.
Chris Hopson, NHS Providers chief executive, said: "These figures show there has been no respite for the NHS. The concerns about the ability of the health service to respond to growing demand - which became so pressing during the winter - are still with us.
"It is clear that trusts are continuing to do all they can. But it is equally clear the situation is unsustainable. Despite political uncertainty, we need urgent decisions to ensure the NHS has the capacity to deal with the coming winter, and beyond that, to respond to longer term pressures."
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