The union is also concerned no progress has been made on a separate nursing pay spine.
The arbitrary political target of 50,000 more nurses has had little impact says the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).
It comes amid a surprise cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
NHS staff would be paid overtime to work extra shifts so that more procedures can be carried out.
The latest official NHS figures show a record 7.68 million patients are waiting for treatment at the end of July...
The government has announced the creation of 900 additional hospital beds ahead of this winter.