The number of people waiting to start hospital treatment has reached a new record high, as the chairman of NHS England warned the private sector should be enlisted to help cut the backlog.

       A total of 5.6 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of July, according to new figures from NHS England. This is the highest number since records began in Aug 2007 and includes those waiting for hip and knee replacements and cataract surgery.

       The number having to wait more than 52 weeks to start treatment stood at 293,102 in July 2021, down from 304,803 in the previous month, but more than three times the number waiting a year earlier, in July 2020, which was 83,203.

       Lord Prior of Brampton, the NHS England chairman, told a Royal Society of Medicine panel the “vast bulk” of the new funding boost announced this week must be directed at tackling the backlog of waiting patients.

       “We’ve got to deal with this waiting list, and that will mean as well, I’ll say it completely openly, that means working with the private sector,” he said.

       “Frankly, I’ve got no problems with doing that, I think the private sector performed incredibly well during Covid.

       “So I think between the NHS and the private sector, we’ve got to really go for productivity, and really hit that waiting list hard.”

       Tim Mitchell, the vice president of the Royal College of Surgeons, said the overall data showed 7,980 patients waiting more than two years for treatment.

       The longest waits were for trauma and orthopaedic treatment such as hip and knee replacements, followed by general surgery such as gallbladder removals and hernia operations.

       “Today’s waiting times figures show the new funding for planned surgery is sorely needed,” he said.

       Siva Anandaciva, the chief analyst at The King’s Fund, said the government investment was welcome “but will not lead to an increase in the number of hospital beds or clinical staff overnight”.