Another Broken Sunak Pledge As NHS Waiting Lists Hit A New Record High

A total of 7.7 million people are now hanging on for treatment.
MILTON KEYNES, ENGLAND - AUGUST 15: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks to staff and patients in the SDEC, same day emergency care unit, during a visit to Milton Keynes University Hospital on August 15, 2023 in Milton Keynes, England. (Photo by Leon Neal - WPA Pool/Getty Images)
MILTON KEYNES, ENGLAND - AUGUST 15: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks to staff and patients in the SDEC, same day emergency care unit, during a visit to Milton Keynes University Hospital on August 15, 2023 in Milton Keynes, England. (Photo by Leon Neal - WPA Pool/Getty Images)
Leon Neal via Getty Images

NHS waiting lists have hit another record high as Rishi Sunak fails to keep another of his promises to voters.

Official figures revealed that 7.7 million cases are now waiting for NHS treatment in England, up from 7.6 million a month ago.

The prime minister made bringing down waiting lists one of his five pledges to voters in January.

Another of the promises was to grow the economy, but data released yesterday showed that the UK’s GDP shrank by 0.5% in July.

Sunak is also struggling to keep his other promises to halve inflation, bring down the national debt and stop asylum seekers crossing the Channel in small boats.

In 389,952 cases, the patients were waiting more than a year for treatment and in 7,289 cases they were waiting more than 18 months.

Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said: “For millions of patients across England, the NHS is no longer there for them when they need it.

“On the NHS, Rishi Sunak is Inaction Man, refusing to meet with doctors to end NHS strikes and adding to the Conservatives’ NHS backlog, leaving patients waiting for months on end in pain and agony.”

Close

What's Hot