A RECORD number of more than 1.85 million people are waiting for at least 18 weeks for hospital treatment, according to NHS England figures released today.

The number tops the previous record of 1.79 million in August 2007.

Just 52 per cent of people received treatment within 18 weeks against a target of 92 per cent – prompting calls for further NHS funding amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The stats also show that 50,536 people had waited more than a year for hospital treatment in June, compared to just 1,089 at the same time last year – an increase of 4,540 per cent and the highest number for any calendar month since February 2009.

GPs made a total of 153,134 urgent cancer referrals two months ago, down 21 per cent from 194,047 in June last year.

Referrals for breast-cancer treatment dropped by 43 per cent.

Shadow health minister Justin Madders described the huge increase in people not starting cancer treatment soon after diagnosis or not being screened for the disease as “incredibly concerning.”

Keep Our NHS Public co-chairman Dr John Puntis called the stats “horrifying” and “alarming.”

He added: “We need another decade of substantial above-inflation annual increases in revenue funding, plus £6 billion to tackle backlog maintenance and refurbishment of existing buildings. The solution to the crisis in healthcare cannot be a return to austerity.”