More people are facing long waits of more than 12 months for treatment, data shows.
NHS waiting lists have hit a new record high, with more people facing long waits, data shows.
Figures for the NHS in England show 7.75 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of August, up from 7.68 million in July.
This is the highest number since records began in August 2007 and comes despite Prime Minister Rishi Sunak saying cutting waiting lists is one of his priorities.
The Government said ongoing strikes by doctors are having a significant impact on the ability to bring down waits.
The data also shows 8,998 people in England were waiting more than 18 months to start routine hospital treatment at the end of August, up from 7,289 at the end of July.
The Government and NHS England set the ambition of eliminating all waits of over 18 months by April this year, excluding exceptionally complex cases or patients who choose to wait longer.
A total of 396,643 people in England have also been waiting longer than 52 weeks to start routine hospital treatment as of the end of August, up from 389,952 at the end of July.
The ambition is to eliminate all waits of over a year by March 2025.
Meanwhile, the number of people waiting longer than 12 hours in A&E departments in England from a decision to admit to actually being admitted was 33,107 in September, up 15% from 28,859 in August but below the 54,573 in December 2022.
The number waiting at least four hours from the decision to admit to admission has also increased, from 120,120 in August to 125,829 in September, a rise of 5%.
Some 71.6% of patients in England were seen within four hours in A&Es last month, down from 73.% in August.
The NHS recovery plan sets a target of March 2024 for 76% of patients attending A&E to be admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours.
