The rising trend in NHS waiting lists has persisted for the third month in a row, putting the government’s pledge to tackle NHS waiting times at risk.
Figures released this morning by NHS England show the number of incomplete pathways (patients waiting for treatment) increased by over 50,000 in August 2025, reaching 7,415,000. This marks the third consecutive monthly rise. The number of unique patients waiting is estimated at 6.3 million.
The rate of pathways closed within the target has decreased to 61%, falling significantly short of the government’s 92% pledge. The NHS waiting times target specifies that 92% of people waiting for non-urgent treatment should wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to first treatment.
The average waiting time is currently 13.4 weeks. However, 191,493 pathways were closed only after 52 weeks.
Service performance varied: The Elderly Medicine Service was the best performer (83.6% closed on time), whilst the Ear, Nose, and Throat Service was the lowest, closing only 50.2% of pathways on time.
Polimapper’s visualisation of NHS waiting times by Integrated Care Board (ICB) reveals cross-country trends.
The NHS Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly ICB performed best, with 70.5% of pathways closed on time – a shortfall of 0.5% from the previous month. Conversely, the Mid and South Essex ICB continues to perform worst (52.9%). Explore figures in your area below.
About this map
The visualisation below shows NHS Referral to Treatment Waiting Times figures for August 2025 by Integrated Care Board in England.
To explore statistics in your area, double click on the map or use the search bar. You can also click here to launch the full page visualisation.
Geodata context
Following this morning’s NHS data release, organisations have questioned the Labour government’s ability to reach its target of closing 92% of pathways within 18 weeks by the end of the parliament (2029).
In a recent report, The Health Foundation has revealed that if referrals and removals (those added to the waiting list and those removed from it) continue to grow at the current pace, the government would fall short of delivering on its pledge, despite making significant progress in reducing waiting times.
Dr Francesca Cavallaro, senior analytical manager at The Health Foundation: “Recent Health Foundation analysis suggests that on current trends, the government will fall just short of its headline pledge to restore the 18-week elective care standard by the end of this parliament. These statistics reinforce the scale of the challenge in achieving this ambitious target.”
“The NHS needs a system-wide approach to recovery, one that prioritises investment, workforce resilience and long-term planning, rather than just delivering more activity. Failing this, the NHS will struggle to cope with both year-round and seasonal pressures without major impacts on performance and patient care.”
Danielle Jefferies, senior analyst at The King’s Fund: “Patients are still confronted with lengthy waiting times, slower than anticipated ambulance response times, and crowded hospitals. Regularly missed targets for various indicators across NHS services are now a predictable occurrence each month, and it’s clear that there is a long road ahead to get the NHS back on its feet.”
“Over recent weeks, the government has fleshed out its ideas for increasing patient access to care and creating greater transparency on performance. […] But ahead of an Autumn Budget that is not expected to provide much more financial support to the health and care system, the conundrum facing this government is the same that troubled previous administrations – how do they keep down costs while resolving industrial action and keeping afloat during winter, all while improving performance in the long term. The government has set a clear priority to improve the 18 weeks target for routine care, but it remains unclear what the recovery plan looks like for many other services that patients rely on.”
Daniel Elkeles, chief executive of NHS Providers: “NHS staff have worked incredibly hard over the summer delivering more tests, more checks and more treatment – but the demand for care just keeps on growing.”
“There’s a more immediate challenge, to ensure timely, high quality care through the busy months of winter – in hospitals, mental health, community and ambulance services.”
“All the signs are it’s going to be very tough, as demand hits new heights.”