Ministers admit they will break NHS pledge on hospital waiting times

Exclusive: Health department says it will miss July target of treating all patients in England waiting at least two years

Ministers have admitted a key NHS pledge to ensure that everyone who has been waiting at least two years for hospital care would be treated by last month has not been met.

The then health secretary Sajid Javid made the promise in February when launching the NHS's elective recovery plan". It was intended to tackle what is now a record 6.6 million-patient backlog in England for those awaiting a procedure such as a joint replacement or cataract removal and included a series of treatment milestones the health service had to hit.