Under a million people are now waiting for NHS operations, the government has announced.

The latest figures released by the Department of Health on Friday showed a total of 992,600 patients were waiting at the end of June.

Ministers hailed the success, claiming waiting lists had been cut to 165,400 below the level when Labour was elected in 1997.

The number of patients waiting over 12 months for inpatient treatment was down to 34 from 159 at the end of May.

Keen to show that the government's investment in the NHS was beginning to show results, ministers also highlighted that 197 patients were waiting over 21 weeks for outpatient treatment.

This is 29,900 less than the figures for the same period last year.

"These figures show that the NHS is continuing to make progress to reduce waiting times for patients," health minister John Hutton said.

"Since 1997, the number of patients waiting 12 months for treatment has fallen by over 30,000. The extra resources and reforms we are putting into the NHS are starting to make a real difference to patients."

But shadow health secretary Dr Liam Fox questioned the efficiency of the government's health spending.

"How do health ministers have the cheek to be so smug about the state of the NHS? Over the last three years, the inpatient waiting list has fallen by some 45,000, a reduction of little over 1,000 each month," he said.

"Since March 2000 the waiting list has been reduced by about from 1,037,066 to 992,600. At the same time health expenditure has increased by over £16 billion.

"That means that the total increase in the NHS budget has been over 33 per cent whereas the fall in the inpatient waiting list has been around 4.5 per cent.

"If ministers still think they are doing well then how do the 992, 600 people who are still awaiting treatment feel about that?"