Bedfordshire Hospitals Trust: More than 100,000 patients waiting for routine treatment according to new figures

The news comes after Chancellor Rachel Reeves gave the NHS a cash injection worth an extra £29 billion per year.

NHS England figures show 100,415 patients were waiting for non-urgent elective operations or treatment at Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust at the end of April – down from 102,738 in March, and 100,556 in April last year.

Of those, 2,774 (3%) had been waiting for longer than a year.

The median waiting time from referral to treatment at Bedfordshire Hospitals Trust was 16 weeks at the end of April – down from 18 weeks in March.

Nationally, 6.23 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of April — down slightly from 6.25 million at the end of March, and the lowest figure since April 2023.

Speaking after her spending review on Wednesday, Ms Reeves claimed the NHS had been "put on its knees" by under-investment by the previous government, adding: "We are investing in Britain’s renewal, and we will turn that around."

The new investment will come from the capital settlement for the NHS and will also help to speed up diagnoses with scans and treatment available in places such as shopping centres and high streets.

Separate figures show 1.7 million patients in England were waiting for a key diagnostic test in April – the same as in March.

At Bedfordshire Hospitals Trust, 16,279 patients were waiting for one of 13 standard tests, such as an MRI scan, non-obstetric ultrasound or gastroscopy at this time.

Of them, 4,603 (28%) had been waiting for at least six weeks.

Other figures show cancer patients at Bedfordshire Hospitals Trust are not being seen quickly enough.

The NHS states 85% of cancer patients with an urgent referral should start treatment within 62 days.

But NHS England data shows just 68% of cancer patients urgently referred to Bedfordshire Hospitals Trust in April began treatment within two months of their referral.

That was down from 75% in March, but up from 67% in April last year.

Oncologist Professor Pat Price, chair of Radiotherapy UK, called for "a big chunk" of the investment announced by the Chancellor to be channelled into radiotherapy.

She added: "The cancer crisis is not easing. Without urgent investment in modern equipment, workforce expansion, and smarter delivery models, patients will continue to face unacceptable delays.

"We stand ready to work with the Government to ensure that both the upcoming NHS 10-Year Plan and the National Cancer Plan seize this opportunity to get cancer care right and to ensure radiotherapy plays the central role in transforming cancer care."

Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting, said the NHS was "on the road to recovery after years of soaring waiting times, thanks to investment and "fundamental reform".

He added: "Thanks to our interventions and the hard work of NHS staff, the overall waiting list has now fallen in April for the first time in 17 years – dropping by almost a quarter of a million since we took office.

"This is just the start. We’ve delivered millions of extra appointments since July, we are pushing on with our mission to get the NHS working for patients once again as we deliver our Plan for Change."