Tens of thousands of NHS patients were left waiting for treatment in August in County Durham, figures show.

This comes as health charity, the King's Fund, says the NHS is grappling with "really serious challenges", with typical winter pressures worsened by the cost of living crisis and the pandemic.

Figures published by NHS England show 39,599 patients were left waiting for treatments and operations at County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust at the end of August 2022.

These figures are up from 38,292 in July, and 30,110 in August in 2021, of which 1,429 have been waiting for over a year.

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Siva Anandaciva, chief analyst at the King's Fund, said the NHS is struggling with "crumbling buildings and outdated equipment, long waiting lists for care, high levels of Covid-19 and growing staff shortages."

"Successive governments’ refusal to confront the worsening health and care workforce crisis and their chronic underinvestment in NHS buildings and infrastructure has created this mix of problems.

"This winter, typical seasonal pressures on NHS services will be amplified by Covid-19 and a cost-of-living crisis that could impact on people’s physical and mental health."

More figures show the median waiting time from referral at an NHS Trust to treatment at the County Durham and Darlington Trust was 11 weeks at the end of August – up from ten weeks in July.

At the County Durham and Darlington Trust, 11,272 patients were waiting for one of 12 standard tests, such as an MRI scan, non-obstetric ultrasound or gastroscopy at this time.

Of them, 1,049 (9%) had been waiting for at least six weeks.

Across England, seven million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of August.

Separate figures show 1.5 million patients in England were waiting for a key diagnostic test in August – the same as in July.

NHS Providers, which acts on behalf of health organisations in England, said the level of pressure across the health system "remains concerning".

It highlighted a shortage in blood supplies as a reason for delays for non-urgent operations.

Other figures show cancer patients at the County Durham and Darlington Trust are not being seen quickly enough.

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The NHS states 85 per cent of cancer patients urgently referred by a GP should start treatment within 62 days.

However, NHS England data shows just 75 per cent of patients urgently referred by the NHS who received cancer treatment at the County Durham and Darlington Trust in August began treatment within two months of their referral.

That figure is down from 81 per cent in July, but up from 73 per cent in August of last year.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “This level of performance is not what patients expect and we must do better for them.

"The Deputy Prime Minister has set out her ABCD priorities – easing pressures on ambulances, clearing the Covid backlogs, supporting the care sector so patients can leave hospital and improving access to doctors and dentists.

“The public can support the NHS this winter by getting their flu jabs and Covid booster vaccines if eligible.”

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