More than a million people in England, including more than 8,500 in Bradford, were waiting to be admitted to NHS hospitals in November 2002 - a rise of 10,600 nationally compared with the same month a year ago, official health figures have revealed.

The Department of Health figures showed that the total number waiting for inpatient treatment in England rose by one per cent between November 2001 and November last year.

However, between October and November last year, the number fell by 9,500 to 1,041,900.

In Bradford, 8,592 people were waiting for inpatient treatment at Bradford Hospitals NHS Trust. Of these people, 4,510 were waiting up to three months, 2,463 were waiting between three to six months, 1,338 between six to nine months and 281 were waiting between nine and 12 months. There were no patients waiting more than 12 months for treatment.

In Airedale, 2,194 people were waiting for inpatient treatment in November 2002. Of these, 1,172 were waiting up to three months, 541 between three and six months, 333 from six to nine months and 148 between nine to 12 months. Again there were no people waiting more than 12 months.

The new statistics also show nationally that the number waiting for more than a year for inpatient treatment dropped by 3,000 between October and November last year and by 20,500 compared with November 2001. The Government said this showed the NHS remained on course to meet the target of no patients waiting more than 12 months to be admitted to hospital for treatment by the end of March 2003.

Health Minister John Hutton said: "These figures show a significant fall in the numbers waiting more than 12 months for an operation but patients still wait too long for treatment.

"That is why we will continue to make reducing waiting times our number one priority for the NHS.

"We want to ensure that by 2005, no-one is waiting more than six months for treatment and three months for an initial appointment with a consultant."