Tens of thousands of patients were waiting for routine treatment at North Cumbria Integrated Care (NCIC) in February, figures show.

A health think tank warned it would take many years to get back to pre-pandemic levels at the current rate.

NHS England figures show 39,063 patients were waiting for non-urgent elective operations or treatment at NCIC at the end of February – up slightly from 38,772 in January, and 34,363 in February 2023.

Of those, 1,091 (3 per cent) had been waiting for longer than a year.

The median waiting time from referral at an NHS Trust to treatment at NCIC was 15 weeks at the end of February – up from 14 weeks in January.

The prime minister has been under increasing pressure as NHS waiting continue to grow.

Separate figures show 1.6 million patients in England were waiting for a key diagnostic test in February – the same as in January.

At NCIC, 10,685 patients were waiting for one of 12 standard tests, such as an MRI scan, non-obstetric ultrasound or gastroscopy at this time.

Of them, 1,445 (14 per cent) had been waiting for at least six weeks.

Other figures show cancer patients at the North Cumbria Integrated Care 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 56 per cent of cancer patients urgently referred to NCIC in February began treatment within two months of their referral.

A spokesperson for NCIC said: “The NHS latest figures show that North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust have exceeded the faster diagnosis cancer targets in February, with 3 out of 4 people receiving a definitive cancer diagnosis or all clear within four weeks.

“We have worked really hard to make sure that our patients are receiving what they need quicker, whether that’s a diagnosis or treatment. We are pleased that we have met the targets, however we always strive to keep improving and have a lot of work to do to make sure this continues.

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“In February, our diagnostic waiting list increased again, however only 13 out of 100 people (13.5 per cent) were waiting longer than six weeks.

“Although 7,078 people began treatment with us, we still saw an increase in our Referral to Treatment (RTT) waiting list.

“However, there are fewer patients waiting over 52 weeks and no patients waiting any longer than 104 weeks.”