The NHS waiting list for non-urgent treatment in England has risen by 33,000, signalling challenges for Health Secretary Wes Streeting’s pledge to cut delays significantly during this Parliament.
Official figures reveal that by the end of July, an estimated 7.40 million treatments were awaiting delivery, affecting 6.25 million patients. This is up from 7.37 million treatments and 6.23 million patients in June, marking the second consecutive month of increases. The record waiting list remains 7.77 million treatments and 6.50 million patients in September 2023.
Long waits continue to be a concern, with 1,429 patients having waited more than 18 months for routine treatment, compared with 1,103 in June. The number of patients waiting over 65 weeks also rose to 11,950 from 10,517 the previous month.
Streeting’s plan to cut waiting times from 18 months to 18 weeks relies on both investment and NHS reforms. Although progress was made in early 2025, the latest figures show the scale of work still required to meet this target.
Despite industrial action by resident doctors in late July, officials noted that the monthly rise in waiting lists was the smallest for any July in the last decade. NHS England also reported record numbers of cancer checks and treatment starts during this period.
At the end of July, 191,648 people had waited more than 52 weeks for routine hospital treatment, a marginal decrease from 191,813 in June. This represents 2.6% of the total waiting list, with the Government aiming to reduce this figure below 1% by March 2026.
Emergency care continues to be under pressure. Four-hour A\&E waiting times in England fell to 75.9% from 76.4% in July. Corridor care, where patients wait more than 12 hours from decision to admit, rose slightly to 35,909 in August. Similarly, the number waiting at least four hours from decision to admission increased to 115,826.
Cancer treatment milestones were reached, with a record 236,263 patients receiving a diagnosis or having cancer ruled out within 28 days in July. Furthermore, 21,633 patients began treatment within 62 days, the highest since the Faster Diagnosis Standard was introduced in October 2023. However, only half of patients referred urgently for cancer were diagnosed on time, with some cancer types falling below one-third.
Over the year to June, the NHS delivered 5.2 million additional operations, appointments, and tests compared to the previous year, representing nearly a 3% increase despite the growing waiting list. Around 5% more patients joined the waiting list in the same period.
Urgent and emergency services also recorded record figures in August, with 2.3 million A\&E attendances and 775,330 ambulance callouts, up 5% and 6% respectively. The average response time for Category 2 emergencies, such as heart attacks and strokes, was the fastest since May 2021, at 27 minutes and 3 seconds.
These figures underline the ongoing pressures facing NHS England, even as staff continue to deliver high volumes of care. The Government and NHS are emphasising reforms aimed at reducing hospital waiting times, increasing community-based care, and improving patient outcomes across the health system.
