Updated waiting list figures from NHS England for September 2021, analysis from LCP’s NHS Waiting List Tracker

The number on the waiting list increased from 5.7 million in August 2021 to 5.8 million in September 2021.

This is now 38% higher than before the pandemic began (March 2020).

The number waiting a year or more for treatment increased slightly from 292,138 to 300,566.

There are now 123,379 waiting more than 18 months for treatment (a 1% increase from August 21) and 12,491 waiting at least 2 years (a 28% increase from August 21).

Orthopaedics continues to have the largest waiting list at 699,823.

Large regional inequalities persist across the waiting list with the number of people waiting 52 weeks or more for orthopaedics now 70 times higher in Norfolk and Waveney than North East Lincolnshire.

Adjusting for population size shows a 73-fold difference in the orthopaedics waiting list across best and worst performing CCGs.

Dr Jonathan Pearson-Stuttard, Head of Health Analytics at LCP, commented: “The latest waiting list data from NHS England shows a mixed picture. Having seen several months of decline in numbers waiting more than one year, this number increased back above 300,000 in September. More worrying still the number waiting at least 2 years increased by nearly 30% from the prior month now more than 12,000, up from less than 3,000 in April of this year. There are persisting inequalities in waiting list numbers and length of time waited across England. Additional resources to tackle the backlog must be proportionate to the unmet health need felt by communities across England.”