NHS waiting times: Calderdale residents' long waits for treatment including one man's FIVE YEAR op delay

The NHS waiting list for treatment has hit a new high, with a total of 6.8 million people nationally waiting to start treatment at the end of July – up 6.7 million in June.

This the highest number since records began in August 2007.

When we asked Courier readers for their experiences, there were several particularly long waits.

They included that of the husband of a woman who said: “My husband has been waiting for FIVE YEARS for an operation that would improve the functionality of his hand and arm (right and dominant) that was initially ripped off in an industrial accident nine years ago.

"It has to be the original surgeon as only he 'knows where he put' all the original and replacement parts.

"We risk the surgeon retiring before the op is performed at the current rate he's progressing up the list!”

Another woman said: “Six months waiting for a kidney scan, finally get an appointment and it’s a telephone one so still I wait for a scan unless they can do it over the phone.”

A man replied to say: “Been waiting three years for a shoulder replacement op. Having to go to Wigan.”

Another man said: “Five months - then to find out it’s being cancelled with no explanation. Now in in for another long wait.”

And one said: “Been waiting for and open MRI scan since January.”

There were some people who responded to say they had received prompt treatment, and one woman even said she had been fast tracked.

There were also several comments from people who put some of the delays people are facing down to people visiting A and E unnecessarily.

Since February, the NHS has managed to reduce two-year waits to close to zero after they rose above 20,000 for the first time. The next target is to remove waits longer than 18 months by April 2023 - NHS England says they are down by more than a third since January.