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Health Services: Waiting Lists

Asked by Ben Obese-JectyConservativeDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled Answered 25 June 2026UIN 6177

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients has the total number on NHS Waiting Lists reduced by since 5 July 2024.

Answered by Karin Smyth

Published Consultant-led Referral to Treatment Waiting Times Data shows the estimated number of unique patients waiting for treatment in each month. It should be noted that a patient may be on multiple pathways, so the total number of patient pathways is higher.

The number of unique patient pathways waiting for treatment since 5 July 2024 is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/rtt-data-2025-26/

NHS England estimates the number of unique patients on the waiting list by using the ratio of unique NHS numbers to pathways in the Waiting List Minimum Data Set.

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