NHS waiting list falls by 1,025 in North and West Cumbria

Hundreds of west Cumbrians are no longer waiting for NHS treatment thanks to government action to drive down waiting lists. 

The latest figures show 1,025 fewer patients on the waiting list at North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Trust compared to July 2024 as England recorded its second-biggest monthly drop in 15 years in November.

New figures show that across England the NHS waiting list fell by more than 86,000 in November, down to 7.31 million, despite staff facing record levels of demand in 2025.

The progress comes after the NHS’s busiest year ever, with 27.8 million A&E attendances in 2025 – more than 367,000 higher than in 2024 – including 2.33 million attendances in December alone.

On a recent visit to the Elective Surgical Hub at West Cumberland Hospital, Josh MacAlister MP thanked NHS staff for their continued hard work in bringing waiting times down, as the Labour government marked one year since the publication of its Elective Reform Plan to tackle long waits.

Since the Elective Reform Plan was launched, Labour has delivered record investment and practical reform to bring waiting lists down. That includes expanding evening and weekend clinics, opening new and upgraded community diagnostic centres and surgical hubs, deploying specialist support teams to hospital trusts under the greatest pressure, and cutting unnecessary appointments by moving patients straight to tests where clinically appropriate.

In North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Trust, these changes have helped more patients receive quicker diagnoses and treatment.

Josh MacAlister MP said:

“NHS staff in West Cumbria have worked incredibly hard over the past year, reducing waiting lists while dealing with another record surge in demand.

“Thanks to Labour’s Elective Reform Plan, real investment and sensible modernisation, more than a thousand patients in north and west Cumbria have received quicker tests, faster treatment, or reassurance sooner than they would have otherwise.

“This progress has been made despite continued pressure on A&E and ambulance services.

“There is still a long road ahead, but step by step Labour is fixing our NHS and making it fit for the future.”