The number of people on heart disease waiting lists in England has fallen to 406,695 at the end of October 2023, a decrease of 2,846 on the previous month, according to the latest figures from NHS England.

This is the first time that cardiac care waiting lists have decreased since November 2022.

However, cardiac care waiting lists are still up 74% compared to February 2020. This is an increase of 174,000 people, enough to fill Wembley Stadium almost twice as much.

Additionally, the number of people waiting for potentially life-saving cardiac care for more than four months (the planned maximum waiting time target) was 159,312 at the end of October, compared to 163,919 at the end of September. Diminished.

However, well over a third (39%) of all people on heart treatment waiting lists wait more than 18 weeks for treatment.

Today’s numbers also show that:

• The longer a person waits for treatment, the greater the risk of disability and early death from heart failure.

• The number of people waiting more than a year for urgent heart tests and treatments fell to 12,778 from 13,223 in September. Only 28 people waited this long in February 2020.

• The average ambulance response time for Category 2 calls, including suspected heart attacks and strokes, was 39 minutes in England in November, down from 42 minutes in October, according to the latest NHS figures.

• The official target for responding to Category 2 calls is 18 minutes, but NHS England and the Government have set a new average target of 30 minutes for 2023/24. This goal was achieved in just one month from April 2023.

“There is no room for complacency.”

Dr Sonya Babu Narayan, Associate Medical Director and Consultant Cardiologist, said: It’s all thanks to the hard work of everyone within the NHS.

“But we cannot be complacent and we still have a long way to go.

“Too many people are still waiting far too long for an ambulance or routine cardiac care and these figures do not include the impact of winter pressures on the NHS.

“Significant delays in cardiac treatment risk preventable heart failure and premature death. That’s why heart patients urgently need urgent care to be a priority for politicians of all parties. You need to understand.”

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