More than 400,000 people waiting for NHS treatment in Greater Manchester

More than 400,000 people in Greater Manchester are now waiting for NHS treatment amid years of pandemic delays - even before electives were cancelled for weeks in the region.

At the end of December 2021, 407,847 people were on waiting lists, according to the latest figures published by Greater Manchester's NHS trusts.

More than 26,000 of those patients have been waiting more than a year for their care, and one in three patients are waiting longer than 18 weeks - the NHS target for treatment.

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But the latest figures form only part of the story as it now stands in Greater Manchester.

In January, almost all elective procedures and 'non-urgent' appointments were cancelled as the Omicron wave took hold.

NHS staff absence shot up to 15 per cent as medics and administrators alike went off with Covid-19, or had to isolate.

The region's health bosses were forced to cancel all but emergency treatments to keep the health service afloat.

After just over two weeks, electives were reinstated, but the number of patients on waiting lists is now understood to be even higher than the 400,000 figure for the end of December.

In January, in the midst of sweeping cancellations of ‘non-urgent’ appointments and surgeries, the Manchester Evening News spoke to three patients who had been awaiting treatment for months on end.

They were left disappointed, once again, in the wake of the news that electives had been paused once more, and say they felt they had been left in the dark about when or if their procedures would be going ahead any time soon.

One month on, the M.E.N. caught up with the three patients. Only one of the three has