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Nearly 30,000 had to wait for treatment for longer than NHS target in August, a rise of 48% on previous year The number of patients waiting more than the recommended maximum of 18 weeks to be treated by the NHS has soared by almost half since last year, official data shows . A total of 28,635 patients in England who were treated in an NHS hospital during August had been waiting more than 18 weeks, compared with 19,355 in the same month in 2010 – a rise of 48%. The figures, released by the Department of Health, confirm that despite repeated ministerial pledges that the NHS would stick to waiting time targets despite growing financial pressure, the number of people having to wait beyond the department’s own recommended maximum time is rising. The 28,635 is the largest number since the coalition came to power last year, when the health secretary, Andrew Lansley, reviewed or eased several NHS waiting time targets. The data also shows that 45 hospital trusts failed to meet the 18-week target in August, compared with 18 in May 2010, the month the coalition took office. The 28,635 who waited more than 18 weeks in August represented 11.3% of all the patients treated that month, whereas the 19,355 in the same position in August 2010 were 7.1% of that month’s total. Andy Burnham, Labour’s shadow health secretary, said: “The figures published today are yet more evidence that David Cameron has put our NHS in the danger zone. “After years of improvement under Labour, more patients have had to wait longer for treatment since David Cameron came to power. “It is particularly alarming that 45 trusts are now missing the target for 90% of patients treated within 18 weeks.” The Patients Association said the latest figures showed that Cameron had not honoured his personal pledge, made earlier this year, to ensure that the 18-week target was met. Treatment within 18 weeks is enshrined in the NHS constitution. However, the Department of Health said that while the number of inpatients waiting more than 18 weeks had risen, the proportion treated within that time was 90.4%, just over the 90% target. The biggest year-on-year rises were seen in trauma and orthopaedics, in which 23.2% of patients in August had waited more than 18 weeks, up from 12.6% a year earlier. In neurosurgery, 20.2% of treated patients had waited at least 18 weeks, up from 7.9%; and in ear, nose and throat treatment, 13.2% of those treated in August had waited that long, compared with 8% a year before. A total of 301,245 NHS patients were treated during August. Of those, 281,569 were treated in an NHS hospital and the other 19,676 by an independent provider, at the NHS’s expense. The department said the NHS had stuck to its two targets in August of treating at least 90% of inpatients and 95% of outpatients within 18 weeks. Although the crucial 90% standard was missed last spring, possibly due to the usual winter pressures on the health service, it was 90.4% in August. Some 97.3% of outpatients were treated, above the 95% target. But Thursday’s data for outpatients shows that 23,511 patients in August had been waiting over 18 weeks, 38.6% more than a year ago. That number represents 2.7% of the total, compared with 2.0% in August 2010. Burnham said Labour’s analysis showed that since the election, a total of 378,850 more patients have waited longer than the guarantees for treatment as inpatients or in A&E, compared with the equivalent period under Labour. Katherine Murphy, the Patients Association’s chief executive, said: “Their [the department's] own figures show that the number of people waiting for longer than 18 weeks for treatment has increased by a shocking 48% since August 2010. Over a tenth of patients are now waiting for longer than 18 weeks to be treated. “The prime minister made a personal promise to ensure that the right to be treated within 18 weeks, enshrined in the NHS constitution, was upheld. He has utterly failed to live up to that promise. The £20bn of so-called ‘efficiency savings’ being demanded of the NHS are bringing the health service to its knees. Yet £1m is still being thrown away every single day on a reform plan that is opposed by doctors, nurses, patients and NHS managers .” Patients unable to have a hip or knee operation or surgery to remove cataracts were among the most frequent callers to the association’s helpline, Murphy said. The data relates to NHS consultant-led “referral to treatment” (RTT) waiting times. A Department of Health spokesman said that the number of people on the waiting list for treatment in England, a separate measure of the NHS’s performance, had fallen from 2.65 million in August 2010 to 2.61 million this August, a drop of 40,000 patients. The Department of Health said: “Average waiting times are low and remain stable. The vast majority of patients still receive treatment within 18 weeks. “We are committed to driving improvements in performance and the quality of care that the NHS provides – including keeping waiting times low.” Dr Mark Porter, chair of the British Medical Association’s consultants committee, said: “The rise in waiting times is one of the consequences of the huge financial strains on the NHS. It is cause for serious concern. As well as the obvious distress caused to patients, longer waiting times can decrease the likelihood of treatments being effective. There are also financial consequences for individual hospital trusts, which are losing funding as a result of the pressures on the NHS to reduce activity. “There has been an assumption that savings in the NHS can be achieved through greater efficiency, and that levels of activity can be maintained. Instead of this happening, services are being cut or downgraded to reduce costs, risking a reduction in the quality of service to patients.” NHS Public services policy Health policy Conservatives David Cameron Liberal Democrats Denis Campbell James Ball guardian.co.uk