ALMOST 40,000 patients are waiting for hospital appointments in Cheshire, latest NHS figures reveal.

Data from the NHS shows that there were 38,857 people on the waiting list in the borough at the end of December 2021.

Delays caused by the pandemic have left a record six million people across the country waiting for medical care.

This includes 29,751 waiting at Leighton Hospital, run by Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Figures show that 684 people had been waiting for more than a year for an appointment and three people had been put on hold for two years.

At East Cheshire NHS Trust, which is responsible for Macclesfield Hospital, there were 9,106 people on the waiting list, with 462 left hanging on for more than a year and 54 facing two years without care.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid has told MPs that the waiting list in England will keep growing for another two years as millions more patients seek care.

The Government has published its elective care recovery plan to reduce waiting lists in 2024.

Cllr Sam Corcoran, leader of Cheshire East Council, said:“People in Cheshire East are being forced to wait months and even years for treatment, often in pain and discomfort.

"Now the Government is telling them that, despite hiking up their national insurance, they will continue waiting longer for years to come.

“Our local health care staff worked heroically throughout the pandemic, but they have been stretched like never before.

“The Government must give us the staff and support needed to get patients the quality care they deserve, when they need it.”

A spokesperson for East Cheshire NHS Trust said: “We continue to make every effort to reduce our waiting lists, while prioritising our most clinically urgent and seriously ill patients.

"Our staff are continuing to ensure patients are treated safely and efficiently, and we apologise to all patients who have experienced longer waits for treatment.”

The Guardian has asked Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for a comment.