The NHS has successfully met its interim target for reducing 18-week treatment waits for the first time in several years, following a drop of more than half a million patients on the waiting list since July 2024. NHS England announced that 65.3 per cent of patients received routine treatment within 18 weeks, representing the largest year-on-year improvement in waiting times in 16 years.
Waiting List Reduction
The overall NHS waiting list decreased by over 312,000 people over the past year, reaching 7.11 million—the lowest level in three-and-a-half years and down by more than half a million since July 2024. This improvement means that nearly half a million fewer individuals were waiting longer than 18 weeks for NHS treatment in March this year.
Longest Waits Decline
The number of patients experiencing the longest waits for treatment has also fallen to its lowest point in six years. Those waiting more than a year has dropped by almost half over the past 12 months and by over 69 per cent since July 2024.
Government Response
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting stated: 'Our plan for the NHS is working. This is the biggest cut in waiting lists in a single month in 17 years. It means we are right on track to deliver the fastest reduction in waiting times in the history of the NHS. That is thanks to the government's investment, modernisation and the remarkable efforts of staff right across the country. Lots done, lots more to do.'
Record Elective Care
The NHS also recorded its best year on record for elective (non-urgent) care, including joint replacements, cataract surgery, and diagnostic tests. Over half a million more patients started treatment or completed care compared with last year, bringing the total to over 18.6 million over the last 12 months.
Persistent Pressures
Despite these improvements, experts caution that major pressures remain across the health service. Over 1.9 million people were still waiting for an NHS-funded diagnostic test in March 2026, up from 1.7 million a year earlier. Among those, the number waiting six weeks or longer for a diagnostic test rose from 312,915 in March 2025 to 406,925 in March 2026.
The NHS noted that these figures came after delivering more tests, checks, and scans over the last financial year than at any point in its history, carrying out a record 29.9 million diagnostic procedures.
Frontline Service Strain
The improvements occurred despite mounting pressure on frontline services, including record demand in A&E departments, soaring ambulance callouts, and unprecedented numbers of GP appointments over the past year. NHS analysis also revealed that strikes in 2025/26 led to the loss of an estimated 171,776 appointments and procedures.
NHS Leadership Comments
NHS chief executive Sir Jim Mackey said: 'This is a huge moment for the NHS. Hitting our targets for the first time in years hasn't happened by accident – it's been down to an absolutely enormous effort from NHS staff up and down the country. Today's achievement goes beyond a set of remarkable statistics – it shows that we're making real inroads on the things that matter to our patients and communities. That our staff have been able to achieve this in a year that's seen the busiest NHS winter on record, that's been interrupted through industrial action and that's seen the biggest shake-up of the NHS in its history makes today's achievement all the more extraordinary.'
Expert Caution
However, several experts urged caution about the milestone. Dr David Griffiths, a GP and chief medical officer at Teladoc Health UK, said: 'The headline figures may not tell the whole story: patients may spend weeks or months waiting for the scans and tests needed before they can even enter the secondary care pathway. That's before we even consider GP access.'
Sarah Woolnough, chief executive of The King's Fund, added: 'This is significant progress, but it may prove to be progress bought at a high price. This amount of additional funding will be hard to sustain in the current economic climate. Ministers can celebrate today's milestone, but they cannot sprint their way to a lasting solution.'
Nuffield Trust fellow Bea Taylor commented: 'It's hard to feel confident that the NHS will be able to sustain this level of progress on waiting times over the coming years to meet the government's headline target of 92 per cent of patients seen within 18 weeks.'
