As reported by the National Health Executive, the NHS has met its 18-week waiting time standard for the first time in years, after what officials describe as the strongest sustained improvement in performance in more than a decade
The improvement has been supported by record diagnostic activity, with 29.9 million tests, scans and checks carried out in the last financial year, the highest figure ever recorded.
In March, 65.3% of patients began treatment within 18 weeks, alongside a continued fall in overall waiting lists driven by higher levels of activity across hospitals and diagnostic services.
The total waiting list has now dropped to 7.11 million, its lowest point in three and a half years, and has fallen by 515,000 since July 2024. Over the same period, performance has improved by 6.4 percentage points, meaning around 450,000 fewer people are now waiting longer than 18 weeks for care.
Across the past year, more than 506,000 additional patients started or completed treatment compared with the previous 12 months, with total elective activity reaching over 18.6 million cases.
The National Health Service also reported a sharp reduction in long waits. The number of people waiting more than a year for treatment has fallen by 48% over the past 12 months, and by more than 69% since July 2024, equivalent to around 208,000 patients.
Overall, patients facing the longest delays are now at their lowest level since July 2020.
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