Latest NHS England data shows that approximately 4.7 million people were waiting for routine operations and procedures in England in February, the highest figure since 2007.

Figures indicate that nearly 388,000 people were waiting more than a year for non-urgent surgery compared with just 1,600 before the pandemic began. NHS England said two million operations took place despite the winter peak of coronavirus admissions. Approximately 40 per cent of all patients who have received hospital treatment for coronavirus since the pandemic began were admitted in the first two months of the year.

Professor Stephen Powis, national medical director for the NHS in England, said treating 400,000 patients with coronavirus over the course of the last year had ‘inevitably had an impact on the NHS’. But, he said ‘the hard work and dedication of staff’ helped to deliver almost two million operations and procedures ‘in the face of the winter wave’.

NHS England recently announced that a £1 billion fund would be used to help trusts restore operations and other services to get as many people treated as possible.

Surgeons are calling for massive investment in the health service so that vital operations can continue no matter what comes its way in the future.

Tim Mitchell, vice-president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England said: "Although the most urgent operations, for cancer and life-threatening conditions went ahead, hundreds of thousands of patients waiting for routine surgery such as hip and knee operations, cochlear implants and vascular operations had their treatment cancelled or postponed.

"People have been patient as they've seen the battering the pandemic has given the NHS, but how much longer can they be expected to wait?"

Tim Gardner, Senior Policy Fellow at the Health Foundation, said: “Today’s statistics show the scale of the backlog and the growing numbers of people experiencing long waits for care. There are now 4.7 million waiting for routine hospital care, the largest number since comparable records began in 2007, with over 387,000 of those people waiting longer than a year. As our recent analysis shows, this is in addition to up to 6 million ‘missing patients’ who either didn’t seek care or couldn’t access services during the pandemic, many of whom will still need treatment of some kind. Without decisive action, the pandemic’s negative impact on health will continue to ripple through society for years to come.

“The government and NHS leaders now need to be clear and realistic with the public about what it will take how they intend to get the NHS back to full strength. This includes dealing with the backlog of care, achieving the ambitions to modernise the NHS as set out in the long term plan and anticipating the effects of long Covid and an expected rise in poor mental health. There will need to be significant investment at the next Spending Review if we are to see improvement on waiting lists and plugging staff shortages, which are holding back progress.”