A RECORD number of patients were waiting for routine treatment at Bradford Teaching Hospitals Trust and Airedale NHS Foundation Trust in June, figures show.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid warned waiting lists across England will keep rising, despite the number of patients waiting for treatment reaching a new national record.

NHS Digital figures show 31,768 patients were waiting for elective operations or treatment at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust at the end of June – up from 29,932 at the end of May.

This was 69 per cent more than were waiting a year previously, when 18,809 patients were on the list.

At Airedale, 9,182 patients were waiting at the end of June – up from 9,150 at the end of May and 37 per cent more than a year previously.

The number of people on waiting lists across England has risen to 5.45 million – the highest total for any month since records began in August 2007.

Mr Javid thinks waiting lists will rise even further due to the “huge increase in demand”.

NHS rules state that patients referred for non-urgent elective care should start treatment within 18 weeks.

At Bradford, 8,892 patients listed for routine treatment at the end of June had been waiting this long – 28 per cent of those on the list.

This was up from 8,424 (28 per cent) waiting at least 18 weeks at the end of May. There were also 1,346 patients waiting at least a year for treatment.

At Airedale, 2,129 patients listed for routine treatment at the end of June had been waiting 18 weeks – 23 per cent of those on the list.

This was down from 2,382 (26 per cent) waiting at least 18 weeks at the end of May. There were also 587 patients waiting at least a year for treatment.

A spokesperson for Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “In line with the whole of the NHS, for the past year and a half our focus has had to be on responding to Covid-19 during this devastating pandemic and that has meant that waiting lists for routine operations have risen.

“Throughout the pandemic, we have continued to prioritise patients and to deliver treatments for the more urgent life, limb or sight-threatening conditions as well as time-critical cancer treatments.

“We have now moved to a ‘reset and recovery’ stage and are working with our neighbouring hospital trusts as well as independent sector providers to prioritise and reschedule appointments and operations which have been impacted.

“Our attention is very much on assessing the needs of all patients whose care may have been delayed due to the pandemic. Prioritisation of our waiting lists is being undertaken on the basis of clinical need. If clinically deemed appropriate or if the patient’s condition dictates, patients will be upgraded to a higher priority status.

“This ensures the most in-need patients receive their treatment as a priority. We continue to work with local independent providers to create more capacity for treatment, something we have done throughout the pandemic.

“We understand the impact of delaying any medical care but we want to reassure people that we are continuing to provide the best care and timely support for patients and their families.”

David Crampsey, Executive Medical Director at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust said: “We continue to make progress on elective surgery backlog and we want to reassure people that the NHS remains open and addressing the increased waiting times is a key focus for our clinical and operational teams.”

“We apologise to anyone whose treatment has been rescheduled and thank them for their understanding.”