Hospital waiting lists hit record high: Where has the biggest wait times in Liverpool’s NHS hospitals

NHS hospitals in England are under severe pressure, with waiting lists reaching new records, according to the figures.

The number of people waiting for routine hospital treatments has grown to 6.4 million, the highest since records began in April 2007.

This comes as the chief executive of NHS England announced plans to “virtually eliminate” the waiting list for patients who have waited more than two years for treatment.

Despite waiting list numbers soaring in recent months, the number of patients who have waited for two years or more has fallen from a peak of 22,500 in January to just 6,700.

Patients will have been given the option to be treated more quickly by receiving treatment at hospitals in different parts of the country.

More than 400 people agreed to receive treatment at another hospital, with 140 patients booked for surgery at a different trust.

NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard said: "As part of the biggest and most ambitious catch-up programme in NHS history, staff are now on track to virtually eliminate two-year waits by the end of July.”

However, the NHS is warning that patients who opt to wait longer or patients in highly-specialised areas may not necessarily have been treated by the end of July.

Royal College of Nursing Director for England, Patricia Marqus, said: “Nursing staff are only too aware of the impact waiting for care has on patients. Every effort is being made to reach those who have been waiting the longest, against a backdrop off extreme pressures across the whole NHS system.

“Investment in initiatives, beds and clinics are one thing but waiting lists can only be brought down if this is matched with investment in the nursing workforce, which has seen more than 25,000 leavers in the last year alone.”

What departments have the longest waiting lists?

Waiting lists have hit record highs in the wake of the Covid pandemic which put some NHS treatments on hold.

Trauma and orthopaedic departments have the largest waiting lists in the UK, with 731,000 patients queueing for treatments such as knee and hip replacements - 55,000 of whom have been waiting over a year.

The NHS England figures, for the end of March, show the proportion of people who have been waiting for 18 weeks or less has fallen to 62.4%, far below the NHS target of 92% and the worst performance in more than a year.

Professor Stephen Powis, national medical director for NHS England, said hospital teams were making good progress in tackling the backlogs, with record numbers of diagnostic tests and cancer checks taking place in March, as part of what he described as “the most ambitious catch up plan in NHS history”.

But Dr Tim Cooksley, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said: “All parts of the NHS are unquestionably struggling.”

Here, we reveal the hospital departments at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust with the biggest waiting lists, as of March 2022 - the latest available data.

Waiting lists by department at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Almost 77,000 people are waiting for treatment at the Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust as of March 2022.

The trust covers Royal Liverpool University Hospital, Aintree University Hospital, Broadgreen Hospital and Liverpool University Dental Hospital.

The department with the largest waiting list in the trust is the Ear, Nose & Throat Services with 9,708 patients awaiting treatment.

The Gastroenterology Service, that specialises in everything to do with the digestive system also has a long waiting list with 9,022 patients waiting for treatment.

In third place is the Ophthalmology Service which ensures the diagnosis and treatment of eye conditions, with 8,500 patients awaiting treatment.

The list of departments and their waiting lists looks as follows:

• Ear, Nose & Throat Services - 9708
• Gastroenterology Service - 9022
• Ophthalmology Service - 8500 
• Other - Surgical Services - 7806
• Trauma and Orthopaedic Service - 7662
• Urology Service - 5383
• Other - Medical Services - 4943
• Oral Surgery Service - 4691
• Dermatology - 3935
• General Surgery Service - 3937
• Cardiology Services - 3927
• Other - Other Services - 2712
• Respiratory Medicine Service - 1995
• Rheumatology Service - 813
• Elderly Medicine Service - 716
• Other - Paediatric Services - 525 
• General Internal Medicine Service - 464 
• Plastic Surgery Service - 234
• Cardiothoracic Surgery Service - 0
• Gynaecology Service - 0 
• Neurology Service - 0
• Neurosurgical Service - 0
• Other - Mental Health Services - 0