Community Health Services: Waiting Lists

NHS England does not publish a single national average waiting time for patients referred to community healthcare services.

Community healthcare services cover a wide range of different service types, with varying referral routes and urgency profiles, and waiting times can differ significantly depending on the service provided and the local area.

NHS England publishes monthly data on community health service waiting lists, which show the number of patients waiting for care within defined time bands rather than an overall average. These data include the number of patients waiting zero to one weeks, one to two weeks, two to four weeks, four to 12 weeks, 12 to 18 weeks, 18 to 52 weeks, 52 to 104 weeks, and over 104 weeks, and are available at a national, regional, integrated care system, and provider level.

The data indicates that over one million people are waiting for community health services in England, with waiting times varying widely by service type, age group, and geography. NHS England continues to improve the coverage and quality of community health services data to support transparency and service improvement.