THE waiting list for routine hospital treatment in England has risen to its highest level for nine months.
An estimated 7.33 million treatments were yet to be carried out at the end of July, relating to 6.21 million patients, according to NHS figures.
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This is up from 7.27 million treatments – and 6.15 million patients – at the end of June.
It’s the highest level reached since October 2025, when the NHS wait list for pre-planned care stood at 7.4 million treatments, encompassing 6.24 million patients.
An estimated 111,379 people had been waiting more than a year to start routine treatment at the end of July, up from 105,711 at the end of June.
Experts said the latest figures show that progress in reducing waiting times remains too slow to restore the 18-week waiting time standard by 2029.
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Just 65.4 per cent of patients began hospital treatment within 18 weeks of referral in July, a dip from the 65.8 per cent seen within that time frame in June.
This met the 65 per cent target that the Government and NHS England set for March of this year.
But it’s well below Labour’s pledge to get 92 per cent of patients waiting for routine hospital treatment such as hip and knee replacements seen to within 18 weeks.
Leading surgeons say it’s unlikely the 2029 target will be met.
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Professor Frank Smith, vice-president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, said: “Our analysis shows that, if the pace of improvement seen over the last two years continues, no region in England will restore the 18-week standard by 2029.”
David Hare, CEO of the Independent Healthcare Providers Network (IHPN) said today’s figures showed the Government would face an “enormous challenge” meeting its commitment to reduce wait times.
“Getting patients treated more quickly is consistently one of the public’s top priorities, with new polling showing 78 per cent say that meeting the NHS’ 18-week target by the end of this Parliament should be the Government’s top priority for the NHS, with 40 per cent saying they would be more likely to vote for a different party if this target is not met,” he said.
Meanwhile the NHS England figures also show that an average of 2,973 patients in England received corridor care each day in August, with 2,296 in A&E departments and 677 in other hospital areas.
The NHS faced “the busiest summer in its history” this year amid a scorching hot summer.
A&E attendances in June, July and August topped 7.2 million.
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TIMELINE OF THE NHS WAITING LIST
THE NHS waiting list in England has become a political flashpoint as it has ballooned in recent years, more than doubling in a decade.
The statistics for England count the number of procedures, such as operations and non-surgical treatments, that are due to patients.
The procedures are known as elective treatment because they are planned and not emergencies. Many are routine ops such as for hip or knee replacements, cataracts or kidney stones, but the numbers also include some cancer treatments.
This is how the wait list has changed over time:
August 2007: 4.19million – The first entry in current records.
December 2009: 2.32million – The smallest waiting list on modern record.
April 2013: 2.75million – The Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition restructures the NHS.
April 2016: 3.79million – Junior doctors go on strike for the first time in 40 years.
February 2020: 4.57million – The final month before the UK’s first Covid lockdown in March 2020.
July 2021: 5.61million – The end of all legal Covid restrictions in the UK.
January 2023: 7.21million – Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledges to reduce waiting lists within a year, by April 2024.
September 2023: 7.77million – The highest figure on record, in a year with strikes by junior doctors, consultants, nurses and ambulance workers.
February 2024: 7.54million – Ministers admit Rishi Sunak’s pledge to cut the backlog has failed.
August 2024: 7.64million – List continuing to rise as Keir Starmer’s new Labour Government takes power.
May 2025: 7.36m – The lowest for two years, since 7.33m in March 2023.
October 2025: 7.4m – Increased in June, July, August and October.
November 2025: 7.31m – A decline of 86,000 compared to October.
March 2026: 7.11m – The lowest level since November 2022.
April 2026: 7.22m – The first rise in six months.
May 2026: 7.28m – Rises again to highest since December 2025.
Health Secretary Yvette Cooper said this showed “extreme demand” on the service is “no longer confined to winter”.
Meanwhile, NHS leaders warned the NHS has “never gone into winter on the back of such a heavy summer”.
Sarah Woolnough, chief Executive of The King’s Fund, said: “The NHS is now facing a twin crisis, with summer joining winter as a major pressure on services and leaving little room for staff and the system to recover between peak periods.
“Hospital buildings have been found wanting in the face of higher temperatures.
“We have seen reports of operating theatres having to close due to overheating and malfunctioning equipment, pushing back much needed procedures, backing up waiting lists and causing prolonged discomfort for patients.
“At the same time, hospitals are struggling to meet their ongoing targets to get down waiting lists.”
All this before hospitals face an onslaught of patients during the colder months – historically the NHS’s busiest period – with seasonal illnesses like flu and norovirus.
NHS England’s national medical director, Professor Frankie Swords said the NHS was preparing for the coming winter “earlier than ever before”, performing “resilience testing around winter plans”.
It comes after the National Audit Office revealed that more than 1.7million people waited in A&E for more than 12 hours last year, despite the NHS budget increasing.
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The figured included 500,000 who languished for a day or longer.
The NAO said: “A&E resources have increased but this has not led to a proportionate improvement in waiting times.”