Hospital waiting times in England vary substantially by service. At the end of July 2026, 7.3 million incomplete consultant-led treatment pathways were waiting to start elective care, while diagnostic services had 1.92 million patients waiting for one of 15 key tests at the end of March. Emergency and cancer services show different measures of delay, with 76.9% of all A&E attendances completed within four hours in April and 71.2% of eligible urgent cancer referrals reaching first definitive treatment within 62 days in July.
Contents
- National elective treatment waits
- How waiting times changed over the year
- Waiting times by hospital specialty
- Diagnostic test waiting times
- A&E waits and emergency admissions
- Cancer diagnosis and treatment waits
- Hospital demand alongside waiting times
National elective treatment waits
The NHS referral-to-treatment (RTT) figures measure incomplete pathways: a pathway is still open because the patient has not yet started consultant-led elective treatment. In England, there were 7.3 million such pathways at the end of July 2026. The estimated number of unique patients represented by those pathways was around 6.2 million. The two figures should not be treated as interchangeable because RTT statistics count pathways rather than people. NHS England, Statistical Press Notice: NHS referral to treatment (RTT) waiting times data, July 2026
Most incomplete pathways had not reached the longest waiting thresholds, but the tail remained substantial. At the end of July, 111,379 pathways had waited more than 52 weeks, 9,095 had waited more than 65 weeks, 1,494 had waited more than 78 weeks, and 235 had waited more than 104 weeks. Overall, 65.4% of incomplete pathways had been waiting up to 18 weeks.
The distribution is also reflected in percentile measures. The median waiting time for incomplete RTT pathways was 12.0 weeks at the end of July 2026. The 92nd-percentile waiting time was 38.4 weeks, meaning the upper part of the waiting-list distribution extended far beyond the median. July figures include estimates for missing providers in the national RTT totals; the reported median and 92nd percentile exclude those estimates.
Activity remained high during the month. Providers recorded 1,985,434 new RTT pathways in July 2026. They completed 328,929 pathways through admitted treatment and 1,322,549 through non-admitted routes. These activity figures describe pathways completed during the month, while the 7.3 million figure describes pathways still incomplete at month-end.
How waiting times changed over the year
The July 2026 figures show improvement in some elective waiting measures compared with the same point in the previous year, although the overall backlog remained very large. The share of incomplete RTT pathways within 18 weeks was 4.1 percentage points higher in July 2026 than in July 2025.
Between the ends of July 2025 and July 2026, incomplete RTT pathways fell by 0.8%, equivalent to 62,027 pathways. Over the 12 months to July 2026, RTT clock starts per working day were 3.0% higher than in the preceding 12 months. Completed RTT pathways per working day were 2.5% higher, while completed non-admitted pathways per working day were 3.8% higher.
These comparisons cover different concepts and periods: the backlog comparison uses two month-end positions, whereas the activity comparisons use 12-month working-day rates. They therefore indicate direction and service activity rather than a simple one-for-one explanation of the month-end total. The source also notes that the national RTT totals include estimates for missing providers.
Waiting times by hospital specialty
Elective waiting volumes differed considerably between specialties in July 2026. Trauma and orthopaedic services had the largest listed total, with 840,967 incomplete pathways, and 60.9% were within 18 weeks. Ophthalmology had 620,931 incomplete pathways, with 72.9% within 18 weeks. Other medical services had 616,038 pathways and a within-18-week share of 70.3%.
Ear, nose and throat services had 594,035 incomplete pathways, of which 57.6% were within 18 weeks. Gynaecology had 585,308 pathways, with 60.0% within 18 weeks. Oral surgery had 318,612 pathways, with 54.2% within 18 weeks.
The smaller specialty totals in the supplied comparison included elderly medicine, with 26,794 incomplete pathways and 83.8% within 18 weeks, and cardiothoracic surgery, with 8,577 pathways and 73.7% within 18 weeks.
| Specialty | Incomplete pathways | Within 18 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Trauma and orthopaedic services | 840,967 | 60.9% |
| Ophthalmology | 620,931 | 72.9% |
| Other medical services | 616,038 | 70.3% |
| Ear, nose and throat | 594,035 | 57.6% |
| Gynaecology | 585,308 | 60.0% |
| Oral surgery | 318,612 | 54.2% |
| Elderly medicine | 26,794 | 83.8% |
| Cardiothoracic surgery | 8,577 | 73.7% |
The percentages are specialty-level shares for July 2026, not average waits. A higher within-18-week share does not by itself describe the number of people waiting beyond a particular longer threshold.
Diagnostic test waiting times
At the end of March 2026, 1,918,200 patients were waiting for one of 15 key diagnostic tests in England. The estimated median wait was 2.9 weeks. Of the total, 406,900 patients had waited at least six weeks, representing 21.2% of the diagnostic waiting list.
The six-week-plus position was worse than a year earlier. The number waiting at least six weeks was 94,000 higher in March 2026 than in March 2025, and the proportion was 2.8 percentage points higher. The diagnostic waiting list itself was 214,700 patients, or 12.6%, larger than in March 2025. Across the 12 months from April 2025 to March 2026, the monthly share waiting at least six weeks ranged from 20.2% to 24.8%.
Waiting performance varied by test. CT had the smallest six-week-plus proportion among the 15 key tests, at 10.0% in March 2026. Urodynamics had the largest, at 42.6%. Regional differences were also marked: the lowest regional share was 12.7% in the North West, while the highest was 29.8% in the East of England.
Diagnostic activity increased alongside the waiting list. Providers undertook 2,618,500 key diagnostic tests in March 2026, 104,000 more than in March 2025. Even so, 126 of the 133 acute trusts submitting English diagnostic data failed to meet the one-percent six-week-plus standard in March. These figures are commissioner-based for patients for whom English commissioners are responsible.
A&E waits and emergency admissions
English A&E departments recorded 2,345,329 attendances in April 2026, 2.1% more than in April 2025. Type 1 attendances were 3.0% higher, while Type 3 attendances were 0.3% higher. There were also 73,777 booked A&E attendances, 15.9% fewer than in April 2025.
Hospitals recorded 525,660 emergency admissions in April 2026, 0.5% fewer than in April 2025. Across all English A&E departments, 1,803,787 attendances were admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours, 5.0% more than in April 2025. That represented 76.9% of all attendances. The corresponding Type 1 performance was lower: 63.8% were admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours.
Longer delays were also recorded after a decision to admit. There were 122,616 delays of more than four hours from decision to admit to admission in April 2026. Of those decision-to-admit delays, 47,750 lasted more than 12 hours before admission. This measure is not the same as waiting more than 12 hours from arrival to departure; the source specifically defines it as the period from the decision to admit until admission.
The April A&E growth rates are calendar-day adjusted. That qualification matters when comparing activity with the previous April because the reported percentages account for the number of days available in each period.
Cancer diagnosis and treatment waits
Cancer waiting-time measures track specific stages rather than one general hospital queue. In England in July 2026, 79.3% of people were told whether they had cancer, or it was definitively excluded, within 28 days of an urgent referral. The Faster Diagnosis Standard covered 308,370 referrals that month.
For treatment, 92.5% of people began first or subsequent cancer treatment within 31 days of a decision to treat. A separate 62-day measure showed that 71.2% began first definitive treatment within 62 days of an eligible urgent referral. The July volumes were 62,098 referrals under the 31-day combined standard and 31,519 under the 62-day combined standard.
The 12-month averages from August 2025 to July 2026 were 77.0% for Faster Diagnosis, 92.0% for the 31-day combined measure and 69.9% for the 62-day combined measure. Average monthly referral volumes over that period were 280,045 for Faster Diagnosis and 58,351 for the 31-day combined standard. July 2026 cancer figures are provisional, so they may be revised.
Hospital demand alongside waiting times
Recent activity provides context for the pressure on hospital services. English A&E departments recorded 7,268,445 attendances across June, July and August 2026, the highest total for that summer period. The total exceeded the 7,027,384 attendances recorded during the same period in 2025.
Across June to August 2026, A&E staff treated, admitted or discharged 5,462,182 patients within four hours. During June and July 2026, the NHS delivered 5,374,603 diagnostic tests or checks in England.
These demand figures sit alongside, rather than replace, the detailed waiting-time measures above. A&E four-hour performance concerns attendances and their immediate outcomes; RTT measures open consultant-led treatment pathways; diagnostic statistics concern patients waiting for specified tests; and cancer standards measure defined referral, diagnosis and treatment intervals. Reading the measures separately helps keep their different populations, clocks and time periods clear.