Jessica’s experience comes amid continuing pressures affecting hospitals across Yorkshire.
Analysis of NHS data by the BBC has revealed the number of cases awaiting admission for surgery or a procedure at 10 hospital trusts across North, South and West Yorkshire has increased by around a third since 2021.
In August 2026, there were more than 63,000 cases awaiting treatment across 11 surgical specialties, compared with almost 48,000 in August 2021.
More than half of these cases had waited longer than the 18 weeks patients should expect from their initial referral.
However, there have been some improvements, with the proportion of cases waiting longer than 18 weeks falling from 60% in August 2023 to 55% in August 2026.
The number waiting more than a year has also fallen by almost two-thirds since 2021, although more than 2,800 cases were still waiting longer than 52 weeks in August 2026.
The figures do not include children’s specialist services or Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, which has not submitted data since June 2025.
Bea Taylor, from the health think tank The Nuffield Trust, said the challenge facing the NHS nationally to deal with waiting lists “cannot be understated”.
“What we’re noticing from the new government is that they have their sights set on winter pressures, maternity care, and the abolishment of NHS England,” she said.
“I think when we’re facing strikes and the up-coming winter season, it’s going to be really hard for the government to keep their focus on the waiting list in the way that they did at the beginning of this year.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “Since this government came to office, we have made progress in cutting waiting times for patients across the country.
“Despite record demand, waiting lists are down by over 251,000 since July 2024 and fewer patients are waiting longer than 18 weeks than last year.
“But we know there is more to do.
“That’s why we have opened more evening and weekend clinics, new community diagnostic centres, expanded surgical hubs, delivering millions of extra GP appointments, putting more staff on the front line, so patients can get diagnosed and treated faster.
“We continue to invest in dedicated elective surgical hubs to expand capacity, with 26 brand new spaces opening since 2024, and more due next year.”
