Tens of thousands of patients were waiting for routine treatment at Bolton's NHS trust in November with staff "working incredibly hard" to "deal with the backlog".

And other data found cancer patients cared for by the trust are not being seen quickly enough.

NHS England figures revealed 44,404 patients were waiting for non-urgent elective operations or treatment at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust at the end of November – up slightly from 43,982 in October, and 38,386 in November 2022.

Of those, 2,653 (six per cent) had been waiting for longer than a year.

The median waiting time from referral at an NHS trust to treatment at Bolton's trust was 16 weeks at the end of November – the same as in October.

In Bolton, 3,414 patients were waiting for one of 13 standard tests, such as an MRI scan, non-obstetric ultrasound, or gastroscopy at this time.

Of them, 308 (nine per cent) had been waiting for at least six weeks.

Other figures show cancer patients at the borough trust are not being seen quickly enough.

The NHS states 85 per cent of cancer patients with an urgent referral should start treatment within 62 days.

But NHS England data shows just 81 per cent of cancer patients urgently referred to Bolton's trust in November began treatment within two months of their referral.

That was up from 77 per cent in October, but down from 82 per cent in November 2022.

Chief operating officer at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, Rae Wheatcroft, said: “We’d like to thank everyone for their patience as we deal with the backlog, which our staff are working incredibly hard to bring down, and we expect to be meeting national standards this year.

“When someone has had a cancer diagnosis, having to wait for treatment is worrying but I would like to reassure people that we are doing everything we can to improve this and we are able to see that our performance is improving every month, which means more of our patients are being treated earlier.

“We have implemented initiatives including increasing capacity for some services, investing in our workforce, and are opening new theatre space and a community diagnostic centre to help bring our waiting times down.

“Anyone waiting for treatment can find advice on managing their physical and mental wellbeing on the Greater Manchester While You Wait website.”

Nationally, 7.6 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of November – down from 7.7 million in October and the second consecutive fall.

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