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THE number of people enduring “trolley waits” of more than 12 hours in A&E departments has reached a record high, according to NHS England figures.
November saw 10,646 people waiting excessive hours in England’s hospitals, from receiving a decision to admit them to being brought in for treatment.
The figure, up from 7,059 in October, is the highest since records began in August 2010.
Last month was the second busiest November on record for A&E, with more than two million patients seen at emergency departments and urgent treatment centres.
The overall NHS waiting list for people needing hospital treatment remains at a record high, with 5.98 million people waiting at the end of October.
Health Foundation’s Tim Gardner said that any plan for the NHS must “balance the need to support patients waiting much longer than usual for treatment with the wellbeing of an NHS workforce that is under-resourced, overstretched, and exhausted by the last two years.”
Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said that with the Tories unfair tax rises, the public is “paying more and getting less” and called for a plan to address staffing shortages.
