NHS waiting lists have fallen for the fourth consecutive month. As NHS staff delivered a record 18 million treatments in the year of 2024, waiting lists have fallen from 6.28 million to 6.24 million patients awaiting treatment in the month of December. However, a significant backlog still remains, with 7.3 million people still waiting to start treatment.
The NHS 92nd percentile waiting time target, which sets out that 92% of patients should be provided with treatment within 18 weeks of referral, has not been met on a national level since February 2016. For December 2024, the North East and North Cumbria ICB saw the highest percentage of treatment responses within the 18 weeks timeline (69%), whilst Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin saw the lowest (49.5%).
Although not meeting the target, waiting times in NHS services in England averaged at 14 weeks. The NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin ICB registered the highest average waiting time for December (18.3 weeks), whilst the NHS Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board registered the lowest (10.9 weeks).
Regarding incomplete pathways, the Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board had the highest number of incomplete pathways in its public health services, with 444,031 patients in the area continuing to wait for treatment by the end of December 2024.
Across the country, 15,278 patients were still waiting more than 65 weeks for treatment, while another 1,961 had been on the list for 78 weeks or longer.
Data viewpoints
Wes Streeting, Health and Social Care secretary: “Annual winter pressures should not automatically lead to an annual winter crisis and we will soon publish our plan to improve urgent and emergency care services, so the NHS can be there for everyone when they need it, once again.”
Professor Julian Redhead, national clinical director for Urgent and Emergency Care at NHS England: “These latest figures show how innovations and the hard work of staff is now delivering consistent progress in bringing down the backlog, with the waiting list falling for the fourth month in a row and a record 18 million treatments delivered last year.”
Dr John Dean, clinical vice-president of the Royal College of Physicians: “Every day, thousands of patients remain stuck in hospital beds – not because they need medical care, but because there is simply nowhere for them to go, such as a place in a residential care home, or a support package for care in their current home. This is a systemic failure that places intolerable pressure on the NHS.”
About this map
The map below was created using our ‘Integrated Care Boards’ template, with data from NHS England.
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