Labour have today committed to clearing the NHS waiting list backlog in the North East within the next five years if they are elected.

In the North East and Cumbria, the total waiting list is now with 992,476, with 357,092 people waiting more than 18 weeks for treatment and 22,701 waiting more than a year.

More than 100 have been waiting more than 18 months for treatment.

If the Labour Party wins the general election it will initially focus on reducing treatment backlogs, which currently stand at 7.54 million.

The party claims the figure could rise to 10 million if the Conservatives are in office for another five years.

Labour’s first step would be creating an additional 40,000 appointments, scans and operations each week during evenings and weekends.

It also vowed to double the numbers of scanners in a bid to diagnose patients earlier.

The plans will be paid for with £1.3bn raised by clamping down on tax dodgers and closing non-dom tax loopholes.

Wes Streeting, Labour’s Shadow Health and Social Care Secretary, said: "Over 14 years, the Conservatives have taken the golden inheritance left by the last Labour government and wrecked it.

"Their neglect, incompetence, and underinvestment in the NHS has left millions of people in the North East and Cumbria waiting in pain and agony. Patients are forced to put their lives on hold while they wait, holding them back from living life to the full and contributing to our economy.

"Rishi Sunak has given up on the NHS. He has no plan to turn this crisis around, which he blames on doctors and nurses instead of taking any responsibility himself. Patients deserve solutions not scapegoats.

"If the Conservatives get another five years then nothing will change, the crisis in the NHS will get worse, and waiting lists will hit 10 million. The longer the Conservatives are in charge, the longer patients will wait.

"It will be the mission of the next Labour government to beat the Tory backlog, so patients are seen on time again."

However, Health Secretary Victoria Atkins hit back at Labour by describing the announcement as "more ‘copy and paste’ politics from Labour, who have no plan".

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"Last week we exposed Labour’s ‘no new hospitals’ pledge, in which they have said they will delay the Government’s building programme for new hospitals," she added.

Ms Atkins said the health service "has faced unprecedented challenges which it can only overcome if supported by a strong economy".

She insisted the Conservatives "have a clear plan and will take bold action to strengthen the economy and continue to deliver the technology and innovation the NHS needs to keep cutting waiting lists".