A RECORD number of patients had been waiting a year or more for routine treatment at Dorset County Hospital Trust in February, figures reveal - with bosses apologising for the impact and insisting they are doing 'everything we can' to maintain services.

The Nuffield Trust said the record size of the NHS waiting list across England shows the health service has been set back years by the coronavirus pandemic and now faces a "major backlog".

NHS rules state that patients referred for non-urgent consultant-led elective care should start treatment within 18 weeks.

READ MORE: Number of patients waiting more than a year for treatment at DCH reaches record high

But NHS statistics show 3,164 patients listed for elective operations or treatment at Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust at the end of February had been waiting for at least a year – 20% of all those on the waiting list.

This was up from 49 the year before, and the highest figure for the month of February since comparable records began in 2012.

A spokesman for DCH said: "The coronavirus response has had a significant impact on the services we can provide to our patients, but we have been working extremely hard to restart activities that were paused during the pandemic.

"Our teams have worked incredibly hard to maintain urgent procedures, and to run as many appointments as possible during the pandemic through telephone and video consultations.

"Inevitably we are now facing some long waiting times for routine surgery within a number of specialities and work is under way to address this backlog.

"We understand the impact longer waits have on our patients and we apologise for the inconvenience of any delay in treatment.

"The safety of our patients is our top priority and we will prioritise the most clinically urgent patients. We have rigorous infection control safety measures in place to protect both our patients and our staff. As a result of these measures some planned treatments are taking longer to perform than they did before which is also adding to delays.

“We would like to thank people for their patience and reassure them that our teams are doing everything they can to maintain as many services as safely as possible."

The number of people waiting for at least a year across England has risen to 387,900 – the highest total since December 2007, and almost 250 times that of February 2020.

The Nuffield Trust said the strain of the backlog on patients should not be underestimated, but added it is no surprise given the intense pressure of Covid-19 hospitalisations.

Sarah Scobie, deputy director of research at the organisation, said healthcare staff have made huge sacrifices during the pandemic, but more will be asked of them.

She added: “It is clear that the NHS has been set back years as it faces a battle to clear these major backlogs of postponed care.

"Returning to the levels of activity seen before March last year will not be enough to meet demand, and we will continue to live with coronavirus for years to come."

Overall, 16,156 people were waiting to start hospital treatment at Dorset County Hospital Trust at the end of February – an increase of 2% on February 2020.

Across England, 4.7 million people were waiting for treatment at this time – the highest number since records began in mid-2007.

This was up from 4.6 million in January, and means almost half a million patients have been added to the waiting list since the pandemic began in March 2020.

The King's Fund said long waiting times do not just affect patients, with concerns growing over access to community services and mental health provision.

David Maguire, senior analyst at the think-tank, said: "The Government needs to be honest with the public and start planning for long-term NHS recovery.

"A good place to start would be with a fully funded workforce strategy to address the persistent staff shortages that have dogged the service for years."

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the Government will ensure the NHS has the funds it needs to tackle the build-up in waiting lists.

Professor Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director, said treating 400,000 patients with Covid-19 has "inevitably" impacted the NHS, but the dedication of staff means they delivered almost a million operations and procedures during the winter wave.