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Waiting lists for routine hospital care in England fell in February for the fifth month in a row, according to official figures that show the NHS is still missing several key targets ahead of elections expected this year.
NHS England data on Thursday showed patients were waiting for nearly 7.54 million appointments, down from 7.58 million at the end of January and below the record high of 7.7 million in September last year.
About 305,050 people had been waiting for more than a year to start routine treatment at the end of February, down from just over 321,000 people at the end of the previous month.
The number of waits of more than 18 months for an appointment also fell in February but stood at 9,969, underscoring the health service's continued failure to meet the target of eliminating all 18-month waits.
Both the government and NHS England have set a target to eliminate all waiting periods of more than a year by March next year. In 2022, the NHS said it would eliminate the 18-month wait by April last year.
The drop in 18-month waits from 14,013 in January came after NHS England said it had decided to remove patients waiting to be treated by community services from the overall waiting list.
Meanwhile, 74.2% of patients were seen within four hours in accident and emergency departments in England in March, up from 70.9% in February.
The data falls short of the target set in the NHS Recovery Plan of 76% of patients to be seen in this timeframe by March this year.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pledged to reduce waiting lists ahead of a general election expected this year, in which health is likely to be a key battleground.
“When it comes to the NHS, this is where we haven't made as much progress as I would have liked,” Sunak told LBC radio on Wednesday, admitting that “the waiting list today is higher than it was when I took office.” “.
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England's top NHS doctors last week accepted a pay offer from the government, bringing an end to an industrial dispute that has dragged on for more than a year.
Ministers remain stuck in an impasse with junior doctors in England, who walked out for five days in February and last month voted overwhelmingly to continue the strike until mid-September.
Sunak said on Wednesday that the settlement with consultants was “very positive” and called on junior doctors to “come back around the table”.
Professor Sir Stephen Powis, national medical director for NHS England, said Thursday's figures showed “how fully the NHS is working to restore services and reduce waiting times for patients, despite the huge demand for services”.
Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said waiting lists were “320,000 longer” than when Sunak became prime minister, “despite his promise to reduce them”.
“Doctors said patients most in need of care were left waiting 24 hours in the emergency department, while relatively healthy patients were seen faster in order to meet that four-hour goal,” Streeting added.
