Local people might be surprised to hear that NHS waiting lists are now lower than they were at this time last year, with waiting for planned care having shortened over the past month.

Over the summer it was predicted that waiting lists would hit 10 million by Christmas but that hasn’t been the case.

A spokesperson for the NHS, said, “Although covid hospitalisations almost doubled during November, for every covid inpatient the NHS treated, hospitals managed to treat five other inpatients for other health conditions. With cancer referrals and treatments now back above usual levels, our message remains that people should continue to come forward for care when they need it.”

The number of Covid admissions into hospitals almost doubled between October and November, going from 24,848 to 41,218.

Hospitals have seen 1.5 million people in A&E, treated 25,000 people for cancer and carried out over 1.8 million tests in just one month.

More than 1.8m diagnostic tests were carried in October, almost 100,000 more than in the previous month.

28.2 million GP appointments took place in October – 1.5m more than in September. The NHS has delivered more than 171.6 million GP appointments since March with the majority carried out face-to-face during October.

The spokesperson continued, “Thanks to the hard work of NHS staff, cancer treatment and referrals are now well above usual levels, with more than 200,000 people referred for checks in October and almost 180,000 people starting treatment since the peak of the pandemic.

“Cancer and screening services are open, ready and able to receive patients so anyone who is concerned about a possible cancer symptom should contact their GP and come forward for a check.

From the start of the pandemic in March to the end of October 1,275,513 people were urgently referred, with the vast majority seen within two weeks

There were 124,131 more referrals in October compared to April. 176,126 started treatment for cancer between March and October and overall, 338,000 people were treated since the peak of the pandemic.