of the backlog. the government is spending more. but more is not the same as enough. and if we want the waiting list to come down by the next election, we would need to spend at least 13 billion. if we wanted to meet the target to treat people within 18 weeks, we need to be spending 17 billion and the government has committed 10. but for the millions currently on the waiting lists, they need help now. these are just a few of the stories i ve come across. this is from a woman who says she was in so much pain she was passing out regularly. she s waited over a year. somebody here is waiting for open heart surgery. there are around 260,000 people waiting for heart treatment in england nearly one in four have waited more than 18 weeks, the national target. someone else is waiting for