The latest figures from the NHS show that at the end of October 2021, there were 69,501 people on the waiting list at Liverpool University Hospitals Trust. 6,066 people had been waiting for more than a year for an appointment and 295 people had been waiting more than 2 years.

In March 2020, at the outbreak of the Covid pandemic, there were 4,235,970 people on the NHS waiting list in England, a then record high. Nationally, the standard of 92% of people seen within 18 weeks of a referral has not been met since 2016. Now, over 1 in 10 people in England are on the NHS waiting list.

The Conservative Government has no plan to deal with the chronic shortage of GPs, doctors, nurses and social care staff, and has not set clear targets to reduce waiting lists and waiting times. Hospitals around the country are reporting unsustainable pressure and an inability to provide high quality care.

Commenting, Peter Dowd MP said: “I have raised this before and I will continue to do so, to many people in Bootle constituency are being forced to wait months and even years for treatment, often in pain and discomfort. It is unacceptable and will have appalling consequences for patients.

“Our local health care staff at Liverpool University Hospitals Trust have been heroes in our community throughout the pandemic. But they are stretched like never before after a decade of Conservative mismanagement.

The Government must give us the staff and support Liverpool University Hospitals Trust needs to get through this winter and to get patients seen on time.