Tens of thousands of patients were left waiting for routine hospital treatment at Swindon's Great Western Hospital in June, according to new figures.

NHS England data shows 41,818 patients were waiting for non-urgent elective operations or treatment at Great Western Hospital at the end of June – up from 40,756 in May and 37, 829 in June 2023.

The average waiting time for treatment referral at Great Western Hospitals Trust was 17 weeks at the end of June, up from 16 weeks in May, and 1,883 patients had been waiting longer than one year.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: "These figures confirm that 14 years of Conservative neglect left the NHS broken, waiting lists rising, and patients failed. Never again should the Conservatives be trusted with our health service.

"It will take time to turn the NHS around. But we are working night and day to get the NHS back on its feet, so it can once again be there for us all when we need it."

Furthermore, 9,064 patients were waiting for one of 12 standard tests, such as an MRI scan, non-obstetric ultrasound or gastroscopy, in June and 2,669 of them, equivalent to 29 per cent, had been waiting for at least six weeks.

The NHS states 85 per cent of cancer patients with an urgent referral should start treatment within 62 days, but data shows 69 per cent of cancer patients urgently referred to Great Western Hospitals Trust in June began treatment within two months of their referral.

That figure was up 10 per cent from June 2023 and up 5 per cent from May of this year, indicating that a greater number of patients were being referred more promptly for urgent treatment.

Louise Ansari, chief executive at Healthwatch England, said: "We are concerned that the progress made in speeding up both cancer diagnosis and the commencement of cancer treatment in recent months is slowing.

"Despite some progress on the referral to treatment target, the NHS is still falling well short of its operational target that 85 per cent of patients wait less than two months between an urgent referral and treatment commencing.

"Urgent action is required to ensure that timely cancer diagnosis and treatment becomes the norm for all patients in England."

Professor Sir Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director, added: "While we have seen improvements in the number of patients seen and treated within four hours in A&E, slightly faster ambulance response times, and more than three quarters of cancer patients receiving an all clear or diagnosis in four weeks, it is clear that waits for patients across a range of services remain unacceptable and there is much more to do to deliver more timely care for those who need it."

A spokesperson for Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “Since the Covid-19 pandemic, our waiting lists for patients needing cancer or routine care for other conditions has increased.

"We are working hard to reduce the number of people waiting for treatment, by running services for longer hours so we can offer more appointments, and working with partner organisations to get patients the right care in the right place.

“We’re also undergoing continual checking of our waiting lists, working to keep in touch with patients to understand if their condition improves or worsens. Patients should let us know if they are unable to make an appointment so we can give it to someone else who is waiting.

“Patients currently waiting are treated in order of clinical need, but anybody who feels they are becoming more unwell, should contact the relevant Trust speciality their care falls under.”