Health services and waiting times
How long people wait for NHS care in England, how the waiting standards work, and how to compare places fairly.
Suits: PSHE, biology and health, maths and statistics, citizenship. Levels: ages 11–14, 14–16 and 16+. Rebuilt every night from the latest figures.
Treatments, England, July 2026.
The standard is 92%.
The standard is 95%.
Average response. The standard is 18 minutes.
Words to know
- Waiting list
- Treatments waiting to start after a referral.
- Standard
- A target the NHS is expected to meet.
- Median
- The middle value of everyone’s wait so far.
- A&E
- Accident and emergency department.
- Integrated care board
- One of the NHS areas that plans care locally in England.
- England only
- Each UK nation measures waits its own way.
Charts
millions of treatments. Treatments waiting to start, England, in millions. July 2016 to July 2026.
Source: NHS England, Referral to Treatment (RTT) waiting times, England
% of people waiting. Share of people waiting who have waited under 18 weeks. July 2016 to July 2026.
Source: NHS England, Referral to Treatment (RTT) waiting times, England
% of attendances, all types of department. Share of A&E patients seen within four hours. April 2020 to August 2026.
Source: NHS England, A&E attendances and emergency admissions
average minutes. Average ambulance response to heart attacks and strokes, in minutes. January 2020 to August 2026.
Source: NHS England, Ambulance Quality Indicators (AmbSYS)
% of people waiting. The NHS standard is 92%.
Source: NHS England
Five NHS areas with the shortest and longest waits, July 2026
| NHS area | Treatments waiting | Under 18 weeks | Middle wait |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly | 53,097 | 74% | 9 weeks |
| North East and North Cumbria | 373,390 | 73% | 10 weeks |
| Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire | 94,419 | 72% | 10 weeks |
| Gloucestershire | 76,514 | 72% | 11 weeks |
| West Yorkshire | 238,444 | 70% | 10 weeks |
| Greater Manchester | 405,139 | 63% | 13 weeks |
| Lincolnshire | 109,453 | 62% | 13 weeks |
| Humber and North Yorkshire | 223,892 | 61% | 13 weeks |
| Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland | 132,973 | 61% | 14 weeks |
| Essex | 280,891 | 55% | 15 weeks |
Top five and bottom five of 36 NHS areas by share seen within 18 weeks.
Questions
How many hospital treatments were waiting to start in England in July 2026?
Answer. 7.1 million.
What is the NHS standard for the share of people who should start treatment within 18 weeks? What share actually did?
Answer. The standard is 92%. In July 2026, 65% had waited under 18 weeks.
The waiting list counts ‘treatments’, not ‘people’. Why might the number of people be lower?
Answer. One person can be waiting for more than one treatment, for example two operations, so the list counts each separately.
In August 2026, what share of people at A&E were seen within four hours? What is the standard?
Answer. 75% were seen within four hours; the standard is 95%.
There are 7,131,685 treatments waiting and 4,657,059 have waited under 18 weeks. Show that this is 65%.
Answer. 4,657,059 ÷ 7,131,685 × 100 = 65.3%.
The list was 5.5 million in June 2021 and 7.3 million in July 2026. Find the change and the percentage change.
Answer. +1.9 million, which is +34%.
How many more people would need to be seen within 18 weeks to reach the 92% standard? (Assume the list stays the same size.)
Answer. 92% of 7,131,685 = 6,561,150. 1,904,091 more would need to have waited under 18 weeks.
Ambulances took 28.9 minutes on average for heart attacks and strokes in August 2026. The standard is 18 minutes. How many minutes over is that?
Answer. +10.9 minutes (28.9 − 18). For life-threatening emergencies the average was 7.9 minutes against a 7-minute standard.
The ‘median wait so far’ is 12 weeks. Why is this not the same as how long a new patient will wait?
Answer. It measures how long people on the list have waited so far, and many are still waiting. A new patient’s wait depends on how fast the list is cleared, so it cannot be read off the median.
Across NHS areas, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly had 74% seen within 18 weeks and Essex had 55%. What is the gap, and what might explain differences between areas?
Answer. 18 percentage points. Possible reasons: population age and health, how many hospitals and staff, how urgent the cases are, how the lists are managed. The data alone cannot say which.
A report says ‘A&E waits are getting worse’. Which two measures would you check, and what could make the picture look better or worse than it is?
Answer. Check the four-hour measure (75%) and 12-hour waits (44,951 patients in August 2026). Attendances can rise, definitions have changed over time, and the 12-hour measure starts at the decision to admit, not arrival.
Waiting-time targets can change what hospitals do. Give one benefit and one risk of having a target.
Answer. Open question. Benefits: clear goal, public accountability. Risks: effort goes to what is measured, people just over or under the line may be treated differently, and the target may not reflect what patients most need.
Ideas for discussion
- Is it fair to compare two hospitals’ waiting times without knowing about their patients?
- Who should decide what the waiting standards are: doctors, politicians or patients?
- What would you need to know to say whether the NHS is ‘getting better’?
Answer sheet: Health services and waiting times
Find. 7.1 million.
Find. The standard is 92%. In July 2026, 65% had waited under 18 weeks.
Explain. One person can be waiting for more than one treatment, for example two operations, so the list counts each separately.
Find. 75% were seen within four hours; the standard is 95%.
Calculate. 4,657,059 ÷ 7,131,685 × 100 = 65.3%.
Calculate. +1.9 million, which is +34%.
Calculate. 92% of 7,131,685 = 6,561,150. 1,904,091 more would need to have waited under 18 weeks.
Find. +10.9 minutes (28.9 − 18). For life-threatening emergencies the average was 7.9 minutes against a 7-minute standard.
Explain. It measures how long people on the list have waited so far, and many are still waiting. A new patient’s wait depends on how fast the list is cleared, so it cannot be read off the median.
Calculate. 18 percentage points. Possible reasons: population age and health, how many hospitals and staff, how urgent the cases are, how the lists are managed. The data alone cannot say which.
Judge. Check the four-hour measure (75%) and 12-hour waits (44,951 patients in August 2026). Attendances can rise, definitions have changed over time, and the 12-hour measure starts at the decision to admit, not arrival.
Discuss. Open question. Benefits: clear goal, public accountability. Risks: effort goes to what is measured, people just over or under the line may be treated differently, and the target may not reflect what patients most need.
Sources: NHS England (Referral to Treatment waiting times, A&E attendances, Ambulance Quality Indicators). See also: Health services · The waiting list · NHS waits near me · Every NHS area.