What the latest NHS performance figures for England show
The number of people waiting more than 52 weeks to start routine hospital treatment has fallen to its lowest level since December 2020.
Response times for ambulances have continued to improve and a key A&E target has been hit for the first time, though the number of patients waiting more than 18 months for treatment has increased.
Here are the main figures from the latest NHS performance data for England:
– Overall waiting list
The size of the waiting list for routine hospital treatment was unchanged in July, following three consecutive monthly increases.
An estimated 7.62 million treatments were waiting to be carried out at the end of the month, relating to 6.39 million patients.
The list hit a record high in September 2023 with 7.77 million treatments and 6.50 million patients, after which the figures fell for several months before rising in April, May and June of this year.
The size of the list has been growing for much of the last 10 years, passing three million in 2014, four million in 2017, five million in 2021 and seven million in 2022.
In February 2020, the last full month before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the list stood at 4.57 million.
Since February 2024, treatments by community services are no longer included in the data, meaning the overall number of incidences of people waiting for treatment in England is likely to be higher than the latest figures.
Community services cover treatments and procedures that are delivered mainly in people’s homes, as well as care homes, clinics, schools, other care facilities and community hospitals.
– Long waits for treatment
Some 2,738 patients had been waiting more than 18 months to start routine treatment at the end of July, up from 2,621 in June.
The previous government and NHS England set the ambition of eliminating all waits of more than 18 months by April 2023, excluding exceptionally complex cases or patients who choose to wait longer.
There were 50,860 patients who had been waiting more than 65 weeks to start treatment at the end of July, down from 58,024 in June.
The target to eliminate all waits of more than 65 weeks is now September 2024, having previously been March 2024.
Meanwhile, 290,326 people had been waiting more than 52 weeks to start routine hospital treatment at the end of July, down from 302,693 at the end of June.
