the number and proportion of nhs hospital patients in england waiting more than 18 weeks to begin treatment have risen to their highest levels in almost seven years, official statistics show.  in february, nearly 40,000 admitted patients did not start consultant-led treatment within 18 weeks of referral, and more than 13,000 waited more than 26 weeks. the target is for 90% to receive treatment within 18 weeks but only 87% did so.  the only worse performance – for both percentage and absolute number – since records began in march 2008 was in april of that year when 86.7% began treatment within 18 weeks. that meant just over 40,000 were kept waiting beyond that period.  the figures show that the median waiting time reached a record 10 weeks in february, up from 8.4 weeks at the time of the last election.  the shadow health secretary, andy burnham, accused the tories of breaking their promises on the nhs. “david cameron promised to keep waiting times low but today’s figures show his plan for the nhs has failed,” he said. “his reorganisation dragged the nhs down to the point where it can no longer meet waiting time targets despite inheriting lists at a record low.”  at the time of the last election, 92.9% of hospital patients were beginning consultant-led treatment within 18 weeks of referral, meaning just over 20,000 were kept waiting beyond that period.    the nhs is also supposed to ensure that 95% of outpatients start treatment within 18 weeks of referral, but in february the figure was 94.7%, the lowest since june 2008. nearly 45,000 were still waiting after 18 weeks, a lower number than in both october and november last year.  an nhs england spokesman said: “in february the nhs made further strides in cutting long waits, with the number of patients who waited over a year slashed from over 5,000 three years ago to being in the hundreds now, and with the average wait for an operation being just 10 weeks.”
nhs hospital waiting time figures worst in seven years