NHS England has blamed a sharp rise in referrals after news today that hospital waiting lists are rising again
Waiting lists rose for the first time in seven months — from 7.4 million treatments relating to 6.24 million patients at the end of Feb to 7.42 million treatments relating to 6.25 million patients at the end of March
The Health Authority added that waiting lists tend to go up in spring as more people come forward for treatment
The new figures from NHS England show some progress in cutting very long waits.
Some 1,164 patients in England had been waiting more than 18 months to start routine treatment at the end of March, down from 1,691 in February.
