Patients were waiting an average of 13 weeks for routine treatment at the Salisbury NHS Trust in February, figures show.

The King’s Fund think tank said another national record for the number of people on hospital waiting lists shows that the strain on the NHS is reaching “unacceptable levels”.

NHS England figures show the median waiting time for non-urgent elective operations or treatment at Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust was 13 weeks at the end of February – up from 12 weeks in January. This was unchanged from the average wait a year previously.

There were 18,022 patients on the waiting list in February – down from 18,826 in January, and 19,183 in February 2021. Of those, 633 had been waiting for longer than one year.

Nationally, 6.2 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of February.

This is up from 6.1 million in January and the highest number since records began in August 2007.

But the figures also show that while the overall waiting list has continued to grow, the number of people waiting more than a year and two years have both fallen.

Danielle Jefferies, analyst at The King’s Fund, said the latest national figures show pressures are now reaching “unacceptable levels” in all parts of the health and care system.

Separate figures show 1.5 million patients in England were waiting for a key diagnostic test in February – the same as in January.

At the Salisbury Trust, 3,960 patients were waiting for one of 10 standard tests, such as an MRI scan, non-obstetric ultrasound or gastroscopy at this time. Of them, 37 (1 per cent) had been waiting for at least six weeks.

Other figures from NHS England show that of 87 patients urgently referred at the Salisbury Trust in February, 64 received cancer treatment within two months.

A month previously – when 64 patients were referred – 53 were treated within 62 days.

In February 2021, 37 patients were treated within this period, out of 51 that were referred.

Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust says it “prioritises elective procedures for patients with the most urgent clinical need, followed by those with the longest waits”.

A statement said “while the overall waiting list size has grown during the Covid-19 pandemic, the trust has achieved its recent target of reducing the size of the waiting list and is on track to remain on target for the longest waiting patients.”

Adding: “We are prioritising activity related to patients that are suspected of having cancer. Despite ongoing pressures in treating non-elective patients, the trust has significantly reduced the number of patients waiting over 52 weeks since July 2021, performing ahead of national expectations.”

It also said the trust’s current focus is on “earlier and faster diagnosis”, with programmes of work underway.

CEO Stacey Hunter said: “We apologise for delays that patients may experience in accessing treatment. We are working hard to reduce all waiting lists but will continue to prioritise patients who need urgent and critical care. I would like to thank the community for their understanding and continued patience as we recover from the past two years of disruption.”