The latest figures from the NHS show that at the end of November 2021, there were 19,937 people on the waiting list at the Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust including 1,084 patients who had been waiting for more than a year for an appointment and 49 people waiting more than 2 years.

Toby Perkins, MP for Chesterfield, said “It is completely unacceptable that people in Chesterfield are being forced to wait months and even years for treatment, often in considerable pain and discomfort. These long delays are having devastating effects on their quality of life and could see conditions become much worse due to the delays.

The at Chesterfield Royal have worked heroically and tirelessly on the frontline throughout the pandemic, but they are now stretched like never before. I have had regular meetings with the Chief Executive, Angie Smithson, and I know the hospital have done everything they can possible to keep services open and reduce waiting times, whilst also limiting the spread of the virus, but services are stretched. It is vital that the Government provide the staff and support the Chesterfield Royal needs to get through this winter and to get patients seen on time.

In March 2020, at the outbreak of the Covid pandemic, there were 4,235,970 people on the NHS waiting list in England, then a record high. Nationally, the standard of 92% of people seen within 18 weeks of a referral has not been met since 2016. Now, 1 in every 9 people in England are on the NHS waiting list. Government has failed to deal with the chronic shortage of GPs, doctors, nurses and social care staff, and has not set clear targets to reduce waiting lists and waiting times. As a result, the NHS went into the latest wave of Covid infections with the longest waiting list ever. Hospitals around the country are reporting unsustainable pressure and an inability to provide high quality care.

Wes Streeting MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, said, “The NHS went into this wave of Covid infections with 6 million people on waiting lists for the first time ever. As a result of a decade of Tory mismanagement, the NHS was unprepared for the pandemic and didn’t have any spare capacity when Omicron hit. It’s not just that the Conservatives didn’t fix the roof when the sun was shining, they dismantled the roof and removed the floorboards. Now patients are paying the price, waiting months and even years for treatment, often in pain, distress and discomfort. Labour will secure the future of the NHS, starting by building the workforce it needs to deliver better care and shorter waiting times, just as the last Labour government did.”