Tens of thousands of patients were waiting for routine treatment at North Cumbria Integrated Care (NCIC) in August, new figures show.

The NHS is facing a difficult winter as the overall waiting list in England climbed for a third month in a row.

NHS England figures show 38,216 patients were waiting for non-urgent elective operations or treatment at NCIC at the end of August – down from 38,903 in July, but an increase on 37,133 in August 2023.

Of those, 1,010 (3 per cent) had been waiting for longer than a year.

The median waiting time from referral at an NHS Trust to treatment at NCIC was 14 weeks at the end of August – the same as in July.

At NCIC, 8,069 patients were waiting for one of 12 standard tests, such as an MRI scan, non-obstetric ultrasound or gastroscopy at this time.

Of them, 1,287 (16 per cent) had been waiting for at least six weeks.

Other figures show cancer patients at NCIC are not being seen quickly enough.

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

But NHS England data shows just 66 per cent of cancer patients urgently referred to NCIC in August began treatment within two months of their referral.

That was up from both 64 per cent in July, and 43 per cent in August 2023.

NCIC said that there was still ‘much to do’ .

A spokesperson for NCIC said: “Our waiting lists and waiting times continue to fall despite higher emergency attendances and admissions this year.

“The waiting list for those who have been referred for treatment (38,216) has reduced for the second month in a row, despite almost 8,000 patients joining the list.

“The amount of people waiting longer than 18 weeks has worsened slightly, however there has been a reduction in patients who are waiting over 52, 65 and 78 weeks.

“Our diagnostic waiting list has fallen for the fourth month in a row now, sitting at 8,069, which is a reduction of 894.

“The percentage of patients waiting more than 6 weeks has also reduced for the second month in a row at 15.9 per cent.

“If you are on our waitlist and no longer need to be, please don’t forget to let us know.

“Similarly, if you are waiting for treatment and your condition has worsened, please tell us so we can make sure you get the care you need in a timely way.

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“We are continually working hard to improve our cancer performance and provide timely and high-quality care to patients, including creating additional MRI capacity at the Cumberland Infirmary, Carlisle.

“In August 96.7 per cent patients received their first treatment with 31 days from a decision to treat (96 per cent target), which is an improvement from July.

“There was also a slight improvement in patients who started their treatment within 62 days from an urgent suspected cancer referral (85 per cent target), however we know there is still much to do.