New figures obtained by the PA news agency indicate that dozens of NHS patients have waited more than three years for hospital care in England.

The research claims that at least eight patients have been on the NHS waiting list for over four years, with one of these waiting for four-and-a-half years.

Hospital leaders have warned that prolonged waits for pre-planned care could lead to ‘emotional and physical distress’ for patients. Efforts to tackle the backlogs of care have been hampered by pressures on the emergency care system, rising Covid cases and high rates of staff absences and shortages.

More than a quarter quarter of the longest waiters at the 69 trusts which supplied data are waiting for care for trauma and orthopaedic care – which covers hip and knee replacements.

The latest official figures from NHS England show that a total of 23,778 people in England were waiting more than two years to start routine hospital treatment at the end of January – around nine times the 2,608 people who were waiting longer than two years in April 2021.

Professor Neil Mortensen, president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, told the news agency: “It is shocking that people have been waiting years for planned NHS hospital treatment. Waiting in limbo for a planned hip, hernia or ear operation can cause real emotional and physical distress.

“Unfortunately, we are hearing from our surgeons that Covid-19 continues to disrupt planned NHS care. This is due to staff being off sick with or testing positive for the virus. Planned operations are also being cancelled because patients have tested positive for the virus.”