The number of people awaiting treatment on the NHS dropped to 7.48 million in December 2024, representing the lowest the NHS waiting list has been throughout last year.
This marks a 16,557 decline from November 2024, when the waiting list also fell to 7.48m, according to data from NHS England. The waiting list in December marked a 2% decrease - or a drop of 144,182 – compared to December 2023 when the waiting list sat at 7.6m. Compared to pre-Covid-19 levels, the waiting list remained 64% or 2.98m higher from December 2019 (4.57m). In January 2025, Prime Minister Keir Starmer committed to cutting the NHS waiting list and welcomed the idea of private sector collaboration. A total of £1.8bn has been committed to cutting waiting times under Labour, a...
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