Patients continue to be left in pain as NHS waiting lists numbers won’t budge

And now the latest figures show the NHS waiting list for treatment remains “stubbornly high”, with millions of people left in pain or unable to work.

Figures from NHS England showed an estimated 7.54 million treatments were waiting to be carried out at the end of March, relating to 6.29 million patients, the same numbers as in February.

Given that the Government has made getting the long-term sick back into employment, it is astonishing that it is not putting more emphasis on dealing with the never-ending crisis in the NHS.

If patients are unable to get the treatment they need then how are they going to be declared fit to work or even be fully productive at work.

Nearly all areas of healthcare are on their knees and where there have been improvements, they have only been marginal.

Downing Street’s attempts to blame the failure to meet the Prime Minister’s pledge to cut waiting lists on strikes does not acknowledge the reason for the strikes in the first place, which are almost impossible working conditions faced by staff.

As a general election edges ever closer, there is a great need for an honest conversation as to how the crisis in the NHS is to be tackled.

There is a fundamental need for wider reform of the NHS. Just throwing more money at it is not feasible.