The NHS in one image
Waiting lists, A&E performance and the pressures behind the headlines.
UK Facts · NHS
7.33 million waits. About 6.23 million people.
The waiting list counts treatment pathways, not patients. One person waiting for two operations appears twice — which is why the two numbers differ by over a million.
- 7.33mincomplete treatment pathwaysThe headline figure, at End July 2026
- ~1.1mthe double-countingPeople waiting for more than one treatment at the same time
- ~6.23munique patients waitingNHS England estimates this from a separate dataset — it is derived, not counted
Elective waiting list, England, 2010 to 2025. Roughly tripled since 2012, and edging down from the 2023 peak.
Falling from a peak is not the same as recovering
The list has come down from 7.61m in 2023, which is real. It remains close to three times its 2012 level, and A&E performance tells a similar story: 74.9% of patients seen within four hours in 2025-26 against a 95% standard last met in 2013-14, and only 60.9% in major consultant-led units.
Read this carefully: England only — NHS Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland publish separately on different bases. The patient figure is an estimate derived from the pathways total using a ratio, not a headcount.
England · End July 2026 · Released 2026-09-10
Source: NHS England, RTT waiting times · uk-statpack.co.uk
See the waiting list and A&E performance in full →UK Facts · NHS
7.33m
NHS waiting list
End July 2026 · England. England only; 7,328,252 pathways, representing about 6.23 million patients. Figures include estimates for non-reporting trusts (Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, Torbay and South Devon, and University Hospitals Plymouth did not submit July 2026 data) and, newly this month, an estimate for one non-reporting independent-sector provider, Cora Health MSK.
NHS England Referral to Treatment statistics · verified 2026-09-12
74.9%
A&E seen within 4 hours
Against a 95% standard, 2025
NHS England, A&E Attendances and Emergency Admissions (monthly time series)
Figures cover different geographies and reporting periods. Open the full analysis for definitions and caveats before quoting any of them.
Generated from the same verified stat registry and chart datasets as the rest of the site.