THE highest number of patients were waiting for routine treatment at hospital for June, official figures have now revealed.

NHS England figures show 22,654 patients were waiting for elective operations or treatment at The Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow at the end of June – up from 22,126 at the end of May.

This was also 62 per cent more than a year previously, and the highest figure for the month of June since comparable records began in 2011 – though there was data missing for one year.

At the hospital, 8,992 patients listed for routine treatment at the end of June had been waiting this long – ​40 per cent of all those on the list.

This was up from 8,703, 39 per cent, waiting at least 18 weeks at the end of May.

There were also 1,143 patients waiting at least a year for treatment in the most recent month’s data.

It comes as health secretary Sajid Javid warned that waiting lists across England will keep rising, despite the number of patients waiting for treatment reaching a new national record.

The number of people on waiting lists across England has risen to 5.45 million – the highest total for any month since records began in August 2007.

Mr Javid said he thinks waiting lists will rise even further due to the “huge increase in demand”.

He said: “The NHS has rightly focused on Covid-19 in this horrible pandemic and that has meant, sadly, that waiting lists have risen.”

Around seven million people who might have needed care during the pandemic are estimated to have stayed away and as some of them come forward to the NHS, there will be further increases in waiting lists, he said.

Stephanie Lawton, chief operating officer at The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust, said: “We have experienced a very high demand for our services across the hospital over the last year, against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“When required, we have prioritised surgery based on clinical need. We have ensured that all patients have the opportunity to discuss plans for their care with their clinician, and all immediately urgent treatment and surgery has gone ahead. Our dedicated teams are continuing to work hard to ensure that patients receive their treatment as soon as possible.”