Hounslow and Richmond Community Healthcare Trust: all the key numbers for the NHS Trust in July

Hundreds of patients were waiting for routine treatment at Hounslow and Richmond Community Healthcare Trust in July, figures show.

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

NHS England figures show 385 patients were waiting for non-urgent elective operations or treatment at Hounslow and Richmond Community Healthcare NHS Trust at the end of July – down from 435 in June, and 516 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 Hounslow and Richmond Community Healthcare 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 Hounslow and Richmond Community Healthcare Trust, 200 patients were waiting for audiology assessments.

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."