NHS waiting list hits all-time high of 7.22 million – with one in 10 waiting 12 hours in A&E

Published

3 years ago

April 13, 2023

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An estimated 7.22 million people were waiting to start routine hospital treatment at the end of February, the highest total since records began in 2007, according to figures from NHS England.

This represents a rise from 7.21 million in January.

Ambulance response times for all types of emergencies have also got longer, including for life-threatening illnesses and injuries.

And around one in 10 people arriving at A&E are waiting more than 12 hours before being admitted, transferred or discharged.

However, progress is being made on clearing the backlog of the longest waits.

The number of people waiting more than 18 months for treatment has dropped from 45,631 to 29,778, a month-on-month fall of 35%.

The government has set NHS England the ambitious target of eliminating all waits of more than 18 months by April 2023, excluding exceptionally complex cases or where patients have chosen to put their operations off.

Waits of more than a year are also down, from 379,245 in January to 362,498 in February, a fall of around 4%.

The government wants to eradicate this by March 2025.

More than 125,000 people had to wait more than 12 hours before being admitted, discharged or transferred, the data showed. This is the first time this metric has been measured.

This was a commitment agreed by NHS England with the government as part of the recovery plan for urgent and emergency care services.

Until now, figures only showed the number of people waiting more than 12 hours in A&E from a decision to admit to actually being admitted, which stood at 39,671 in March, up 13% from 34,976 in February.

This is considerably lower than the record of 54,532 which was set in December 2022.

The number of people waiting at least four hours from the decision to admit to admission has also risen, from 126,948 in February to 144,292 in March, up 14%.

UK

Woman arrested on suspicion of murder after death of two children in Stafford

Published

5 hours ago

October 12, 2025

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Woman arrested on suspicion of murder after death of two children in Stafford

A 43-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of murder after the death of two children in Stafford.

Police were called to a home on Corporation Street at around 7.30am on Sunday by West Midlands Ambulance Service.

Two children were pronounced dead at the scene, Staffordshire Police said.

Detective Inspector Kirsty Oldfield said: “We are working hard to understand more about what happened leading up to these two children tragically losing their lives.

“We ask that people do not speculate at this stage as it is distressing for family and friends and could hinder our inquiries.

“We understand that this incident may cause concern in the local community. We don’t believe there is wider threat to the public at this time.”

The 43-year-old woman, who is from the Stafford area, remains in custody.

The force has not confirmed the ages of the two children. Their next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specially-trained officers, police said.

UK

Man charged with stalking after allegedly targeting Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey and his family

Published

6 hours ago

October 12, 2025

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Man charged with stalking after allegedly targeting Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey and his family

A man has been charged with stalking and possession of a flick knife after allegedly targeting Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey and his family.

Inigo Rowland, 58, of Surbiton, south London, was arrested last Monday, but it was only made public on Sunday.

He appeared at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday and was remanded in custody, the Met Police said.

The offences are alleged to have taken place between June and October.

Sir Ed, the MP for Kingston and Surbiton, lives in southwest London with his wife, Emily, their 17-year-old son John, and his younger sister Ellie.

A spokesperson for the Met Police said: “Inigo Rowland, 58, of Surbiton has been charged with stalking and possession of a flick knife.

“He appeared at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, 7 October and was remanded into custody. He will next appear at the same court on Tuesday, 14 October.

“He was arrested on Monday, 6 October in relation to the offences, which are alleged to have taken place between June and October.”

A Lib Dem spokesperson said: “We cannot provide any details at this time, Ed’s number one priority is the safety of his family.”

UK

Paedophile Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins dies after attack in prison

Published

17 hours ago

October 12, 2025

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Paedophile Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins dies after attack in prison

Paedophile Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins has died after being attacked in prison.

Watkins, 48, was serving a 29-year jail term for multiple sexual offences, including serious crimes against young children and babies at HMP Wakefield, in West Yorkshire.

He was attacked with a knife by another inmate on Saturday morning, sources have confirmed.

West Yorkshire Police said two men, aged 25 and 43, have been arrested on suspicion of murder.

Watkins was pronounced dead at the scene after prison staff reported the assault to police.

The prison went into lockdown in the immediate aftermath of the incident, sources added.

A Prison Service spokesperson said they could not comment while the police investigate.

Watkins was previously stabbed in an incident at the same prison in 2023, suffering non life-threatening injuries after he was reportedly taken hostage by three other inmates before being freed by prison officers six hours later.

He was sentenced in December 2013 to 29 years in prison, with a further six years on licence, after admitting 13 sex offences, including the attempted rape of a fan’s baby.

He also encouraged a second fan to abuse her child during a webcam chat and secretly stashed child sexual abuse videos, some of which he had made himself.

At the time, police described him as a “committed, organised paedophile”.

Having found fame in Welsh rock band Lostprophets, Watkins was arrested after his Pontypridd home was searched on orders of a drug warrant in September 2012.

A large number of computers, mobile phones and storage devices were seized during the search.

When sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court, the singer was told he was being given an extended sentence – and a judge said his crimes “plumbed new depths of depravity”.

After being caught with a mobile phone behind bars in 2019, he told a court that he was locked up with “murderers, mass murderers, rapists, paedophiles, serial killers – the worst of the worst”.