TENS of thousands of patients were waiting for routine treatment at Bradford Teaching Hospitals Trust in March, figures show.

NHS England figures show 32,952 patients were waiting for non-urgent elective operations or treatment at Bradford at the end of March – down from 33,918 in February, but an increase on 27,715 in March 2021.

At Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, 10,258 patients were waiting for non-urgent elective operations or treatment at the end of March – down slightly from 10,307 in February, but an increase on 8,894 in March 2021.

Of these patients, 1,100 (three per cent) at Bradford and 447 (four per cent) at Airedale had been waiting for longer than a year.

The median waiting time from referral to treatment at Bradford was 10 weeks at the end of March – down from 12 weeks in February, while at Airedale the waiting time was 10 weeks at the end of March, the same as February.

Siva Anandaciva, chief analyst at The King’s Fund think tank, said “The top priority for the NHS is to tackle the longest waits, so it is some comfort to see the number of people waiting over two years for planned care starting to come down."

“But the reality check is that until ministers grasp the nettle on health and care staffing shortages, it will be patients who continue to pay the price by waiting longer in discomfort, pain and deteriorating health.”