Patients waiting for routine hospital treatment in England hits record high

Published

2 years ago

October 13, 2022

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The number of people waiting to start routine hospital treatment in England has reached a record high.

In all, seven million patients were waiting to start treatment at the end of August, NHS England said.

This is up from 6.8 million in July and is the highest number since records began in August 2007.

It was also revealed total of 387,257 people in England had been waiting more than a year to start hospital treatment at the end of August, up from 377,689 at the end of July.

This is means one out of every 18 people on the waiting list is waiting over 12 months to begin treatment.

Figures also showed that 2,646 people had been waiting over two years to begin routine hospital treatment at the end of August, slightly down from 2,885 the previous month and markedly down from a peak of 23,778 in January this year.

NHS England had said its target was for no patients waiting longer than two years for treatment, except in instances of complex cases or when the patient themselves chooses to delay.

Ambulance waiting times were also revealed, with the wait for calls from people with life-threatening illnesses or injuries averaging nine minutes 19 seconds. The target for these types of incidents is seven minutes.

The average wait for ambulances to arrive in instances of non-life-threatening injuries was 47 minutes 59 seconds in September, over half an hour longer than the target time of 17 minutes.

The number of people waiting longer than 12 hours in A&E for a bed after being seen by a doctor also reached a new record high of 32,776 in September, up by more than 4,000 on the previous month.

This figure is higher than the total recorded in the 124 months from August 2010 (since records began) to November 2020.

A total of 71% of patients in England were seen within the target four hours at A&E departments across England last month, level with the worst performance ever recorded.

The national target is for 95% of patients to be dealt with in under four hours, a target which has not been met since 2015.

A record number of 255,055 urgent cancer referrals were made by GPs in August however only 75.6% saw a specialist within the two week target time, the second worst performance on record.

Monthly figures also showed there was more NHS activity than before the pandemic with 4% more patients receiving treatment in August compared to the same month in 2019, and more than two million tests and checks carried out.

The number of patients in hospital with Covid has also more than doubled since September to over 10,000.

Labour’s Shadow Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting, branded the news that NHS waiting lists were now the longest in history “totally unacceptable”.

He said: “Twelve years of Conservative understaffing of the health service is holding our economy back, with patients unable to work while they wait. You can’t have a healthy economy without a healthy society.”

“The next Labour government will oversee the biggest expansion of the NHS workforce in history, paid for by abolishing the non-dom tax status. We will train the doctors and nurses our NHS needs to get patients treated, healthy and back to work.”

NHS national medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis said: “Despite huge pressures on the NHS this summer, the incredible work of colleagues across the country meant that in August we delivered more potentially life-saving cancer checks than ever before and cut 18-month waits by 60% over the last year.

“This was despite continued pressure from Covid patients in hospital, which has now risen to more than double the numbers seen in August, and more of the most serious ambulance callouts than before the pandemic.”

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Major companies part of drive to get thousands of offenders in work

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1 hour ago

January 10, 2025

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Major companies part of drive to get thousands of offenders in work

Bosses of leading high street businesses are set to lead a new drive to cut crime and get ex-offenders into stable jobs.

It’s part of a government initiative creating 11 new regional employment councils across England and Wales.

Leaders from firms including the Co-Op, Iceland, Greggs, and Oliver Bonas will provide voluntary advisory roles in conjunction with probation, job centres, and the Department for Work and Pensions.

The idea is to help ex-prisoners find work while they serve the remainder of their sentence in the community.

The government says roughly 80% of offending is reoffending, while the latest data shows offenders unemployed six weeks after leaving jail have a reoffending rate more than twice that of those in work – 35% versus 17%.

The employment councils will supplement the work of existing employment advisory boards, created by the former Timpsons chief executive, now prisons minister, Lord Timpson.

The advisory boards bring local leaders into 93 individual jails to help provide education and training advice, but largely stop at the prison gates.

The government wants the new councils to act as better bridges for offenders, under one umbrella – bringing together probation, prisons and local employers, helping prison leavers look for work.

This will include connections with work coaches at job centres that will provide mock interviews, CV advice and training opportunities in the community.

Lord Timpson called the new scheme and partnering with business a “win win”.

“Getting former offenders into stable work is a sure way of cutting crime and making our streets safer,” he said.

Last month Sky News heard from former offender, Terry, now employed at the cobblers and key cutters Timpsons, about what he calls an “invisible stigma” for those with criminal records seeking employment.

He said getting a secure job was life-changing because without other options “you’re probably going to think about doing crime”.

Annie Gail, head of social impact at Cook Foods, which is taking part of the government’s new scheme, also told Sky News that prison leaver programmes such as theirs are “challenging”.

She said having ex-offenders in public-facing roles “can cause concern” but insists “good business is about more than just turning a profit” and instead is about being “a force for good in society”.

The new scheme is set to start next week, and plans to get thousands of ex-offenders into stable jobs, away from a life of crime.

UK

Boy, 17, stabbed to death at Bedford bus station

Published

1 hour ago

January 10, 2025

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Boy, 17, stabbed to death at Bedford bus station

A 17-year-old boy has been stabbed to death in Bedford.

Police say Thomas Taylor was walking along Greenhill Street, close to Bedford Bus Station, when he was attacked by a group of men at 5.50pm on Wednesday.

He was taken to hospital after suffering serious injuries and died a short time later.

A murder inquiry has been launched.

The attackers have not been caught. They were described as black and wearing dark clothes. They ran away in the direction of Hassett Street and Greyfriars car park, police said.

Detective Chief Inspector Katie Dounias said: “This is an absolutely shocking incident in which a teenage boy has been stabbed to death in a busy town centre.

“We have a dedicated team of detectives working on this investigation and supporting Thomas’s family at this incredibly difficult time for them.

“I would urge anyone who saw what happened or has any information to come forward and speak to police and help us bring those responsible to justice.

“We’re aware that there are images and videos circulating on social media, please refrain from sharing any such clips and instead contact police.”

Bedford Academy headteacher Chris Deller said: “We are deeply upset and shocked to hear the sad news that a Bedford Academy student has lost their life.”

He described Thomas as a “popular, well-liked, and respected lad” who had recently finished Year 11, before heading onto sixth form.

“Our focus now is on supporting the family through such a difficult period, whilst helping our students and wider community to come to terms with such a tragic loss,” he added.

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Romanian grooming gang convicted of sexually exploiting women in Dundee

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1 hour ago

January 10, 2025

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Romanian grooming gang convicted of sexually exploiting women in Dundee

A Romanian grooming gang has been convicted of sexually exploiting 10 vulnerable women in Dundee.

Four men and one woman were found guilty of dozens of offences – including rape – following an extensive investigation into sexual exploitation, human trafficking, and the supply of drugs in the Tayside area.

Marian Cumpanasoiu, 37, Remus Stan, 34, Catalin Dobre, 44, Cristian Urlateanu, 41, and Alexandra Bugonea, 34, denied any wrongdoing but on Thursday were convicted following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow.

Detective Inspector Scott Carswell branded the offenders “deplorable” in an interview with Sky News’ Scotland correspondent, Connor Gillies.

The detective said the gang plied the women with alcohol and free Class A drugs at parties before coercing them into sexual activity, “which a lot of them didn’t want to do”.

He said: “But as things progressed, they were so addicted to the drugs that they knew the only way they could get the drugs was to perform the sexual acts that they were having to get involved in.”

DI Carswell said the gang got the women addicted to drugs in a bid to control them and keep them coming back for more.

He added: “They’ve had no thought as to the impact this is having on the victims. It’s been quite controlled in that they knew what they were doing.”

The gang will be sentenced at a later date.

Police Scotland said the offenders were arrested and charged as part of Operation Recloir, which was launched in late 2021 to target a gang of suspected human traffickers in the Tayside area.

DI Carswell said the inquiry initially focused on brothel-keeping in Dundee and the suspected trafficking of Romanian females into the country.

He added: “However, into the summer of 2022 we started to receive information that the crime group were targeting vulnerable Dundee females, and it looked like they were grooming them and coercing them with gifts of free drugs and other things until it moved on to the victims having to get involved in sexual activity to get the free drugs.

“And unfortunately, this got them addicted to the class A drugs that had been provided.”

DI Carswell said many of the victims identified believed they were the girlfriends of the men involved and did not realise they were being “groomed and used”.

The detective said the women were looking to be “cared for”, noting: “However, I believe that the end goal here was to groom the females and possibly move them into prostitution.”

DI Carswell said it was important to build up the victims’ “trust and confidence” in order to get them to engage with the force.

He said: “That did take a lot of patience, and it was something that I was passionate about with my inquiry team from the start.”

DI Carswell added work remains ongoing to ensure the women’s welfare and long-term safeguarding.

The detective believes his team identified all the victims, but not everyone wished to engage with the inquiry.

DI Carswell added: “What I would say to them is even at this time if they don’t want to engage with the police, the support’s always there if they need help with anything on the back of this.”