GOVERNMENT promises to tackle hospital waiting lists were in tatters last night after a sharp rise in the numbers facing delays of more than 12 months for treatment.

Only weeks after Health Secretary and Darlington MP Alan Milburn launched his plan to improve the NHS, figures show that for some hospitals the situation is worse, not better.

Although overall there are fewer people waiting for treatment, more of those patients are having to wait for a year or more to be admitted.

Health watchdogs insisted last night that only a hefty and immediate injection of more resources - personnel and cash - would reverse the trend.

In South Tees the numbers waiting for more than 12 months shot up from 92 a year ago to 243, while in Newcastle they increased from 204 to 309.

In North Durham the figure almost doubled from 37 to 72, and in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, which had nobody waiting more than 12 months in March, the figure is now 93.

Across the NHS's Northern and Yorkshire region there are 332 more patients who are being forced to wait more than 12 months than there were last year.

The director of performance management at the regional NHS Executive, Ian Dalton, agreed that the rise was a matter of concern.

He said: "We are working very closely with our colleagues in the NHS to ensure there is a dramatic reduction by the end of next March."

The South Tees figure includes 52 heart patients, where last year there was none. It follows a policy change to treat the more unstable cases sooner in the wake of The Northern Echo's Chance to Live campaign.

Last night, the trust's director of performance management, John Chisholm, said: "We are concerned about the length of time some of our patients are having to wait for treatment, and we apologise to them.

"We are constantly looking at ways of delivering better services and are already working on a number of initiatives to bring the waiting times down."

The increase at South Tees reflects a rise of almost 20 per cent in the demands on services over the past two years.

But the chief officer of the local Community Health Council, Peter Johnson, said the waiting list figure was regrettable.

He said: "We don't like it, but realistically we can't see how they can achieve a zero long-term waiting list at the moment. More doctors, more nurses and more money. That's the bottom line. It's all about resources."

The Newcastle trust's chief executive, Len Fenwick, said the list had increased because of greater demand for services.

"We are seeing a greater equity of access to services in Newcastle for people from a greater distance," he said, adding that they were recruiting more staff to tackle the issue.

The Friarage Hospital, in Northallerton, has put together an action plan to reduce the long-term waiting list, which was exacerbated this summer by a temporary operating theatre closure.

A spokesman at the Department of Health said last night: "The NHS plan announced in July builds in targets for expanding services so more people can be seen more quickly - but nothing can happen overnight.

Read more about the Chance to Live campaign here.

Get more health news and information at healthspectrum