NHS waiting list progress slows as cancer and A&E targets missed

Progress on cutting the NHS waiting list in England has slowed, according to the latest figures, with the backlog for planned hospital treatment still standing at more than seven million cases. The most recent detailed data shows the waiting list at around 7.22 million cases, representing some 6.11 million individual patients, many of whom have been waiting months for treatment.

Analysts described the rate of improvement as sluggish, warning that while the list remains below its earlier peaks, the pace of reduction is not fast enough to meet the government's ambitions within the planned timeframe. Around 2.53 million people on the list have been waiting more than 18 weeks, the threshold the NHS is supposed to meet for routine treatment.

The figures came alongside continued underperformance against key cancer and emergency care standards, underlining the scale of the challenge facing the health service as it tries to recover from years of disruption.

Cancer targets missed

Performance against cancer waiting time standards remained below target. In the most recent month for which figures are available, 70 per cent of patients received their first cancer treatment within 62 days of an urgent referral, well short of the 85 per cent operational standard. Delays at the start of the cancer pathway can have serious consequences for patients, making timely diagnosis and treatment a priority for clinicians and campaigners alike.

• Elective waiting list at around 7.22 million cases
• Approximately 6.11 million individual patients waiting
• Around 2.53 million people waiting more than 18 weeks
• 70 per cent treated within 62 days for cancer, against an 85 per cent standard

A&E under strain

Emergency care also continued to fall short of standards, with a large share of patients at major A&E departments waiting longer than four hours to be seen, admitted or discharged. The pressure on emergency departments, intensified by record summer attendances, has knock-on effects across hospitals, including on the ability to admit patients and free up beds.

“These figures show that progress on the waiting list has stalled, and without sustained action the recovery risks losing momentum.”

— a health policy analyst

What is driving the slowdown

A number of factors have contributed to the slower pace of improvement, including industrial action, high levels of demand, workforce shortages and the difficulty of discharging patients who are medically fit to leave but cannot be safely supported at home or in social care. Each of these pressures makes it harder for hospitals to carry out planned operations and clear the backlog.

Health leaders have argued that lasting progress depends not only on extra activity but on reforms to the way care is delivered, including shifting more services into the community and improving the flow of patients through the system. They point out that hospitals cannot carry out planned operations efficiently if beds are occupied by patients who are ready to leave but have nowhere suitable to go.

There is also wide variation between different parts of the country and different specialties, with some areas and services having made far more progress than others. Tackling that variation, and learning from the places that have managed to cut their lists fastest, is seen as an important part of any sustained recovery.

Background

The waiting list grew sharply during and after the pandemic, when many routine operations and appointments were postponed. Successive governments have promised to bring it down, and there has been some progress from the peaks reached a couple of years ago. However, the sheer size of the backlog, combined with rising demand and repeated disruption, has made sustained reductions difficult to achieve. The government has set out a long-term plan for the NHS that aims to reform services and improve performance over the coming decade.

Attention will now turn to whether the suspension of strike action and continued investment can accelerate progress over the summer and autumn. Campaigners are calling for honesty about the scale of the task and sustained focus on the patients who have been waiting longest.