Hospitals in England are being offered unlimited bonus payments to remove patients from waiting lists who are deemed not to need treatment, as part of efforts to reduce record backlogs. The cap on incentive payments, previously set at 5% of a trust's waiting list, has been scrapped, according to documents seen by the Guardian.
The waiting list for hospital treatment fell for the sixth consecutive month in February, with 7.40 million treatments relating to 6.24 million patients, down from 7.43 million treatments in January. However, health experts warn that cancer patients continue to face unacceptable delays, with only 67% of patients receiving treatment within 62 days of an urgent referral, below the 75% target set for March 2026.
NHS trusts have been ordered to 'validate' their entire waiting lists, reviewing each patient and removing those who could be treated elsewhere, no longer need a specialist appointment, or have already used private healthcare. NHS analysis suggests around 300,000 people on the list do not require elective care. Patient charities have raised concerns that some individuals may be wrongly removed, but NHS sources say no patient will be removed without a clinician review and notification to their GP.
In emergency departments, 75% of patients were seen within four hours in March, up from 73.4% in February, but the number waiting at least 12 hours from decision to admit rose to 46,766, an 8.8% increase year-on-year. Dr Tim Cooksley, immediate past president of the Society for Acute Medicine, described corridor care as a 'national scandal'.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting acknowledged progress but warned that fixing the NHS is a long road. Prof Sir Stephen Powis, NHS England's national medical director, said the figures show 'signs of genuine progress'. Cancer Research UK's Michelle Mitchell stressed that while diagnosis is improving, delays to cancer care remain unacceptable.
