More than 130,000 patients were waiting for routine treatment at the Mid and South Essex Trust in March, new figures show.

NHS England figures show 137,603 patients were waiting for non-urgent operations or treatment at the end of March – up from 130,968 in February, and 87,689 in March 2021.

Of those, 5,424 – four per cent – had been waiting over a year.

The average waiting time from referral to treatment was 13 weeks at the end of March – down from 14 weeks in February.

Nationally, 6.4 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of March – the most since records began in 2007.

But the number waiting more than two years dropped for the second month in a row.

Separate NHS figures show a record 24,138 people had to wait more than 12 hours in A&E departments in England in April, from a decision to admit to actually being admitted.

Siva Anandaciva, of the King’s Fund think tank, said unless the Government “grasp the nettle” on health and social care staffing shortages, patients will be left waiting in “discomfort, pain and deteriorating health”.

Separate figures show 1.6 million patients in England were waiting for a key diagnostic test in March – a rise on 1.5 million in February.

At the Mid and South Essex Trust, 27,914 patients were waiting for one of 13 standard tests, such as an MRI scan, non-obstetric ultrasound or gastroscopy.

Of them, 8,172 – 29 per cent – had been waiting for at least six weeks.

Other figures show cancer patients at the trust are not being seen quickly enough.

The NHS says 85 per cent of cancer patients urgently referred by a GP should start treatment within 62 days.

But the figure was just 47 per cent at the Mid and South Essex Trust in March.

That was up from 46 per cent in February, but down from 66 per cent in March 2021.

The Department of Health and Social Care said it has provided a record £36billion over the next three years for the NHS and social care, and launched a plan to tackle the Covid backlog.

A spokesman added: “We recognise the unprecedented pressure NHS staff are under from the pandemic – especially frontline ambulance workers."