The biggest increase in waiting lists since 1948

Record Increase in Hospital Waiting Lists

The number of patients who have been awaiting treatment for more than 18 months, in breach of the Patients' Charter, has also risen.

Ministers blame the increases on the legacy of the last government and say that in the short term it is more important for hospitals to treat emergencies than to get the headline figures down.

Promises

The opposition parties claim Labour is already in breach of its election pledge to save the NHS.

Labour promised to improve the NHS

The Labour manifesto avoided a direct promise to shorten waiting lists saying only it would "treat an extra 100,000 patients" and end waiting for cancer surgery. But many of the party's election posters appeared to make a clear promise to reduce hospital lists.

The Conservatives will not let Labour blame the latest rises on their last administration. One of their health spokesmen, John Maples MP, said: "For several of the last few years waiting lists were falling. We believe we introduced measures to make the health service more efficient".

He attributed the rises in the last months of the Conservative Government to bad winter weather and emergency admissions.

Spending

The Liberal Democrats health spokesman, Dr Evan Harris, blamed Labour's failure to increase spending: "Why have Labour adopted Tory spending plans for the NHS? We see what that means...it means longer waiting lists, a winter crisis and patients on trolleys".

The Government will not confirm the figures officially before publication in the coming week. However, a spokesman said: "It's not a surprise".

Many health professionals expect worse to come

"Ministers have been saying for some time that waiting lists are going to rise in the short term. Things are going to get worse before they get better. The legacy that was left by the previous administration is very challenging", the spokesperson said.

But Dr Laurence Buckman of the British Medical Association predicted the lists would get longer: "The worsening is going to be for patients who need operations...the waiting times after they've seen the specialist are going to rise because there is not enough money to pay for them to be operated on".