NHS patient waiting lists have surged to another record high of six million people, according to NHS England figures released today.

The huge number represents patients waiting for routine hospital treatments — and compares to 4.2 million prior to the start of the pandemic, itself a record high at the time.

Labour shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said: “Record numbers of people are waiting for care and they are waiting longer than ever before, often in pain and distress.

“After a decade of Tory mismanagement, the NHS went into the pandemic with record waiting lists and staff shortages of 100,000.

“It’s not just that the Tories didn’t fix the roof when the sun was shining, they dismantled the roof and removed the floorboards.

“This isn’t a Covid backlog. It’s a Conservative backlog.”

Unison head of health Sara Gorton said: “Persuading exhausted, demoralised health workers to stay in their jobs, and attracting newcomers to the NHS, is paramount.”

She called for an “inflation-busting wage boost is needed as soon as possible.”

Dr Tim Cooksley, president of the Society of Acute Medicine, said hospitals were stuck in a “vicious cycle” of delays which was effecting patient care.

SOSNHS, a new campaign backed by health unions and campaign groups, has called for a day of action on February 26 and a £20 billion emergency fund to support the NHS.

The latest figures were published two days after the government set out its elective recovery plan for cutting waiting list times.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid has said the waiting list would continue to grow until March 2024 because up to 10m people who did not seek medical help during the pandemic are doing so in greater numbers, which is increasing demand in the NHS.