Wirral Community Health and Care Trust: all the key numbers for the NHS Trust in July

More than 100 patients were waiting for routine treatment at Wirral Community Health and Care Trust in July, figures show.

The shadow health secretary has branded the Prime Minister "inaction man" over rising waiting lists.

NHS England figures show 127 patients were waiting for non-urgent elective operations or treatment at Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust at the end of July – up from 115 in June, but a decrease on 135 in July 2022.

None of those had been waiting for longer than a year.

The median waiting time from referral at an NHS Trust to treatment at Wirral Community Health and Care Trust was seven weeks at the end of July – up from six weeks in June.

Nationally, 7.7 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of July.

Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said patients were waiting an "unacceptably long" time.

He added: "On the NHS, Rishi Sunak is Inaction Man, refusing to meet with doctors to end NHS strikes and adding to the Conservatives’ NHS backlog, leaving patients waiting for months on end in pain and agony."

Separate figures show 1.6 million patients in England were waiting for a key diagnostic test in July – the same as in June.

At Wirral Community Health and Care Trust, 337 patients were waiting for a type of cardiology test, called an echocardiography.

None of them had been waiting for at least six weeks.

Professor Pat Price, of the CatchUpWithCancer campaign, said the cancer figures show "we are still massively short in hitting the Government’s target of no more than 85% of cancer patients waiting more than 62 days between urgent GP referral and their first treatment."

"Today’s figures reveal that nearly 40% of cancer patients are missing their life-saving cancer treatment: this is over double the Government’s own target," she added.

The Prime Minister told the BBC on Thursday ongoing strikes by NHS staff were threatening his target of cutting waiting lists in 2023, acknowledging his promise could be missed.

Professor Julian Redhead, NHS England’s national clinical director for urgent and emergency care echoed Mr Sunak's comments on the impact of industrial action.

He said: “Today’s figures show that despite ongoing pressures across the NHS, including record demand for emergency care this summer, and an increase in Covid cases during July and August, NHS staff are continuing to deliver for patients."