THE government came under fire from health campaigners and politicians across the spectrum today after plans to tackle the massive backlog of people on hospital waiting lists were reportedly put on hold.

The Treasury was said to have refused to approve measures by NHS England to reduce the record number patients waiting for non-urgent operations and procedures – currently six million – despite detailed discussions with 10 Downing Street, the Department of Health and Social Care and the NHS.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid told Sky News that the plan, due today, would be published “shortly” and that he did not recognise reports that it was being held up by the Treasury, instead blaming the omicron variant of coronavirus.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the government was setting out “tough targets” to deal with the backlog and that the “vast majority” of patients who fear that they have cancer should receive a diagnosis within 28 days.

About 500,000 suspected cancer patients are waiting longer than the two-week target to see a specialist, recent figures from the House of Commons Library have revealed.

Keep Our NHS Public (KONP) co-chairman Dr John Puntis said: “Chancellor [Rishi] Sunak started the pandemic by saying the NHS would have all the money it needed. 

“In a dramatic U-turn, he more recently announced that spending on life-saving booster immunisations would inevitably lead to cuts elsewhere.

“The Treasury also called in building plans for the only six of 48 promised new hospitals to be funded, saying these were too expensive.

“Now it seems as if the Chancellor sees funding for tackling waiting lists as wasting money on a dying administration.

“The chaos from a prime minister who has lost all authority is now playing out in departmental rivalries that can only further damage the NHS and those millions waiting for care.”

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said that the government had failed to come up with a recovery plan just as the country needed one.

“It’s yet more evidence of the chaos, incompetence – particularly of the last three or four months, where everybody’s been embroiled in allegations about partygate,” he said.

“The government saying ‘we need more time’ is not going to cut very much ice with those people on the waiting lists.”

Shadow health and social care secretary Wes Streeting and shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves have written to Mr Sunak urging the government not to allow the recovery plan to become “another cancelled operation.”

The letter said: “Whatever the internal arguments within the Conservative Party, you cannot play political games with the NHS while millions of people wait for care.

“If you allow your party’s chaos and incompetence to paralyse the government, it will be NHS patients who pay the price.”

Green MP Caroline Lucas, who is vice-chairwoman of the all-party parliamentary group on coronavirus, said: “One week after writing off £4.9 billion in fraud and with billions more wasted on dodgy PPE and crony contracts, it is unforgivable that they are now citing budget concerns in delaying a plan to tackle this unprecedented backlog.

“With around six million people on waiting lists and some waiting more than two years for essential treatment, ministers cannot be allowed to continue passing the buck.”

Former health secretary Jeremy Hunt, who now chairs the Commons health and social care committee, described the delay to the plan as “extremely disappointing.”

He said: “There appears to be an argument about targets which are the last thing the NHS needs. Instead, they should be discussing where we are going to find the 4,000 additional doctors needed to address the backlog.”