558,000 people in Greater Manchester are currently waiting for planned hospital care

Northern Care Alliance hospitals: Rochdale Infirmary, Fairfield General Hospital, the Royal Oldham Hospital, Salford Royal Hospital

A staggering 558,000 people in Greater Manchester are currently waiting for planned hospital care, according to recent data released by the Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership.

Latest figures have revealed that the number of people on the total waiting list at the end of August is 558,000.

The three specialties with the largest waiting lists are gynaecology; ear, nose, and throat (ENT); and trauma and orthopaedics, whilst over 28,000 people are currently waiting for an endoscopy procedure.

In the stakeholder briefing from 5 September, the Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership said reducing the number of people waiting for planned treatment “continues to be a key focus for us in Greater Manchester.”

It said hospitals are working together to treat people “as quickly as possible, particularly those who are a clinical priority and those who have waited the longest.”

It added: "Many patients who have waited 104 weeks or 78 weeks have now been treated unless they have a particularly complex medical issue, have been poorly, or have chosen to wait longer.

“The next significant milestone for us is to treat everyone who has waited 65 weeks or more by the end of March 2024."

Rochdale MP, Sir Tony Lloyd, said the waiting list length is down to a lack of funding, not enough staff, too little equipment and outdated buildings.

Mr Lloyd said: “This is a phenomenal number of people waiting for medical care — roughly 1 in 6 people in the Greater Manchester region.

"But this has been a long time coming. We've had 13 years of government denying funding to the NHS and failing to address a growing workforce crisis which has left it with too few staff, too little equipment and too many outdated buildings to perform the amount of surgery needed.

"We need a government that will make the NHS a priority and to begin to use the resources of our society for all of us, not just some of us."

Chris Clarkson, the MP for Heywood and Middleton, has also been contacted for comment.