THE number of people on hospital waiting lists in Somerset has shot up, new data from the NHS has revealed.

Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, which manages Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton and Yeovil Hospital, had 36,685 patients waiting consultations, care, assessments or treatment in November 2022.

By November 2023, that number had soared by 16,696, leaving a total of 53,381 people on waiting lists at the two hospitals.

Responding to the figures, Gideon Amos, the Liberal Democrat candidate for Taunton and Wellington said the government had broken its promise to slash waiting lists. Commenting, he said: "These shocking figures show far too many people in Somerset are being left waiting - often in pain - for treatment for too long. “People deserve an NHS here in Taunton and Wellington which delivers the care they deserve when they need it. “One year on from Rishi Sunak promising that waiting lists would fall, thousands of people in our community are still stuck on waiting lists with their lives put on hold or unable to work."