What are average NHS waiting times?
The average waiting time for NHS treatment varies depending on the type of treatment and location in the UK (yes, there is a postcode lottery). But here is some information on current NHS waiting times (data is mostly for patients in England; sources below).
Elective (planned care) waiting times – including operations and procedures
18 week target = 92% of patients should have definitive treatment within 18 weeks of referral from GP to hospital (e.g. GP to hospital consultant for an operation like a hip replacement).
In September 2024, the median waiting time for such a treatment was 14.0 weeks, which is almost double the pre-COVID median wait of 7.5 weeks (in July 2019).
In July 2024, the waiting list stood at 7.6 million cases, with nearly a half of these (3.1 million) waiting over 18 weeks, and about 290,000 waiting over a year for treatment.
Currently 58% achieve the 18 week target.
The 18 week target was last achieved in February 2016.
A&E waiting times
4 hour target = 95% of patients should be admitted, transferred, or discharged within four hours.
In March 2024, the average waiting time was:
- 5 hours and 7 minutes (if you are admitted)
- 2 hours and 37 minutes (if you are not admitted).
The total number of patients waiting over 12 hours was 28,500 in August 2024.
Currently 60% achieve the 4 hour target. This means almost all patients going through ‘majors’ (the sicker patients) will breach the 4 hour target.
The 4 hour target was last achieved in July 2015.
Cancer waiting times
There are 3 cancer standards:
- Faster Diagnosis Standard (FDS) = 28-days wait from referral (by your GP) to being given a cancer diagnosis (at least 75%; yes, quite a weak standard)
- 31 day target = 31-days (one month) wait from decision to treat to first treatment (96%)
- 62 day target = 62-days (two months) wait from referral to first treatment (85%)
Currently 92% of patients achieve the 31 day target and 68% achieve the 62 day target. Average time to treatment data is not collected.
The (previous) two-week target (2WW) was last achieved in December 2015. The FDS took over from it in April 2021. Hence there is no good long-term data yet.
How good is performance in your area?
Waiting times can vary considerably between hospitals, and you can use the My Planned Care website to compare waiting times at different hospitals.
You can asked to be referred to a hospital where the performance is better. This is especially useful for patients who live between hospitals, or live in large cities (with multiple hospitals) or who don’t mind travelling.
Is this poor performance because we don’t have enough staff?
No. The numbers were and are growing rapidly, way faster than population growth (0.6%). It is a performance and efficiency issue.
Other resources
Should I chase my doctor?
NHS backlog data analysis (BMA; September 2024)
NHS key statistics (House of Commons Library, July 2024)
