This morning, NHS England released updated waiting times figures showing 7.3 million open pathways, representing the number of cases where a patient was waiting to start treatment by the end of June 2026. Despite these large waiting lists, the rate of pathways closed within the 18-week target continues to rise, currently standing at 65.8%.

In June, while over 100,000 people were still waiting longer than 52 weeks, average wait times were closer to 12 weeks. The Oral Surgery Service saw the highest average waits, at 16 weeks, conversely, the Elderly Medicine Service and Mental Health Services recorded average waits below 9 weeks.

Polimapper has visualised the new dataset by Integrated Care Board (ICB), showing the geographical variations across the new data. The NHS Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board continues to see the best performance, closing 73.6% of pathways within the 18-week target. Conversely, the Essex ICB closed only 55.9% of pathways on time.

Geodata context

A release from NHS England, published today, highlights that while the NHS normally experiences spikes in demand during the summer months, this summer has brought unprecedented pressure on health services. However, the publication reveals that the NHS has been stepping up efforts to get patients diagnosed and treated more quickly, with June seeing the highest number on record for diagnostic tests and checks.

Professor Frankie Swords, national medical director at NHS England: “The heat is making day-to-day working more challenging while also driving up pressure on services. But staff are as ever demonstrating outstanding professionalism, flexibility and hard work in the face of this summer surge – seeing more patients, more quickly, while bringing down the waiting list despite record numbers of people being referred for treatment.”

Sarah Woolnough, chief executive of The King’s Fund: “While today’s figures show progress on elective waiting lists and A&E performance, they also should be taken with caution. The Government met its interim target for 18-week waits in March, but waiting lists rising by almost 170,000 since then demonstrates how fragile this progress has been. The NHS continues to face record levels of demand, compounded by the ongoing series of heatwaves, laying bare the threat of climate change to the nation’s health.”