NHS winter crisis fears as waiting list hits 7.75m high

THE NHS is "running red hot" with the queue for planned treatment at a record 7.75 million and the hectic winter period looming, experts warned yesterday.

- Hanna Geissler

Its August figures show nearly 400,000 have been on the waiting list for longer than a year.

A&E delays have also soared. Last month, more than 33,000 waited beyond 12 hours from a decision to admit to actual admission. That is up from 28,859 in August and 23,934 in July.

Ambulance response times have also risen month-on-month.

Crews are taking an average of eight minutes and 31 seconds to reach life-threatening incidents and 37 minutes and 38 seconds for emergencies such as heart attacks and strokes more than double the target of 18 minutes.