Public beta. Independent and not affiliated with the UK Government.

Department of Health and Social Care · Health

Reduce NHS waiting lists

Restore the NHS constitutional standard so that 92% of referral-to-treatment pathways are waiting no longer than 18 weeks by March 2029.

Tracker assessment
Methodology statusIn progress
Tracker interpretationMixed
Current evidence65.3%
Reporting periodMarch 2026

What the evidence shows

FactThe accredited March release reported 7.1 million pathways. A separate NHS England news release gave a more precise 7.11 million and described this as 515,000 lower than July 2024; that publicity comparison is not used in the tracker calculation.

Calculation65.3043% − 58.8215% = 6.4828 percentage points, displayed as 6.5 points; no value is derived by subtracting rounded publicity figures

AssessmentThe interim milestone was met and performance improved by 6.5 points, but a 26.7-point gap remains to the final 92% standard.

Limitations

  • The displayed 6.5-point change is calculated from the revised national time-series values before rounding: 65.3043% minus 58.8215%.
  • The NHS England news release describes a 6.4-point improvement and a 515,000 list reduction; those rounded publicity figures are identified separately and are not used to derive the tracker baseline.
  • Sheffield Teaching Hospitals did not submit March 2026 data; NHS England estimated missing acute-provider activity in the national figures.
  • RTT pathways are not unique patients, and the 92% target concerns waiting time rather than the total list alone.

Money allocated, an announcement or an activity is not treated by itself as evidence of delivery. Timing and correlation do not establish causation.

Evidence and revision trail

Baseline: 58.8% within 18 weeks in July 2024, from the NHS England revised national RTT time series

Target: 92%

Next milestone: 70% of pathways within 18 weeks (2027-03-31)