More than 2,700 additional treatments have been carried out on patients in north and west Cumbria over the last year, with the waiting list dropping by 7% overall.
The latest figures from North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust, which runs West Cumberland Hospital and Cumberland Infirmary, also show that the number of patients waiting more than 12 months for treatment has dropped by a third.
This news comes as national data highlights an additional 3.6 million NHS appointments have been delivered since July 2024, smashing the government’s target to deliver 2 million more appointments in year one.
Whitehaven and Workington MP Josh MacAlister says this is “a clear example of Labour delivering on our promises and the steps being taken to get the NHS working for patients once again”.
£26 billion of additional funding was pumped into the NHS in last year’s Budget to help bring waiting lists down and at last week’s Spending Review the Chancellor committed a further £29 billion for day to day spending on the NHS in every year of this Parliament.
Josh said:
“After the Tories left waiting lists at a record high and patient satisfaction at a record low, hundreds of residents across West Cumbria were stuck left waiting for treatment.
“That’s why falling waiting lists in our area is such good news, as this Labour Government puts the NHS on the road to recovery.
“I know not everyone was happy with all of the choices made at last year’s Budget, but those decisions meant we could invest the money which has led to this drop in waiting lists.
“I’d like to thank our dedicated and hard working NHS staff for their tremendous efforts. Together we can be the generation that takes the NHS from the worst crisis in its history and makes it fit for the future.”
Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting, said:
“We are putting the NHS on the road to recovery after years of soaring waiting times, by providing record investment and fundamental NHS reform.
“Thanks to our interventions and the hard work of NHS staff, the overall waiting list has now fallen in April for the first time in 17 years – dropping by almost a quarter of a million since we took office.
“This is just the start. We’ve delivered millions of extra appointments since July, we are pushing on with our mission to get the NHS working for patients in West Cumbria once again as we deliver our Plan for Change.”
Josh MacAlister MP 