4.7 million waiting for operations in England

Around 4.7 million people were waiting for routine operations and procedures in England in February - the highest since 2007, NHS England figures show.

Nearly 388,000 people were waiting more than a year for non-urgent surgery compared with just 1,600 before the pandemic began.

During January and February, the pressure on hospitals caused by Covid-19 was particularly acute.

NHS England said one million operations took place despite the winter peak.

It recently announced that a £1bn fund would be used to help trusts restore operations and other services to get as many people treated as possible.

Professor Stephen Powis, national medical director for the NHS in England, said treating 400,000 patients with Covid-19 over the course of the last year had "inevitably had an impact on the NHS".

But he said "the hard work and dedication of staff" helped to deliver almost a million operations and procedures "in the face of the winter wave".