The overall NHS waiting list has hit a new record high, though A&E times and cancer referrals have improved.
Here are the key figures from the latest health service performance data for England:
– Overall waiting list
The number of people waiting to start routine hospital treatment has climbed to a new record high.
An estimated 7.6 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of June, up from 7.5 million in May.
It is the highest number since records began in August 2007.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made cutting waiting lists one of his priorities for 2023, pledging in January that “lists will fall and people will get the care they need more quickly”.
The waiting list has been growing for much of the last 10 years, passing three million in 2014, four million in 2017, five million in 2021 and seven million in 2022.
– Waits of more than a year
An estimated 383,083 people had been waiting longer than 52 weeks to start routine hospital treatment at the end of June.
This is down slightly from 385,022 at the end of May.
The Government and NHS England have set the ambition of eliminating all waits of more than a year by March 2025.
– Waits of longer than 18 months
There were 7,177 people waiting more than 18 months to start routine hospital treatment at the end of June.
This is down from 11,446 at the end of May.
The Government and NHS England set the ambition of eliminating all waits of more than 18 months by April this year, excluding exceptionally complex cases or patients who choose to wait longer.
– Cancer referrals
The proportion of patients seen by a cancer specialist within two weeks of being referred urgently by their GP fell slightly from 80.8% in May to 80.5% in June, remaining below the target of 93%.
Some 59.2% of cancer patients who had their first treatment in June after an urgent GP referral had waited less than two months, up slightly from 58.7% in May and below the target of 85%.
A total of 73.5% of patients urgently referred for suspected cancer were diagnosed or had cancer ruled out within 28 days, up from 71.3% the previous month.
The NHS elective recovery plan sets a goal of March 2024 for 75% of patients who have been urgently referred by their GP for suspected cancer to be diagnosed or have cancer ruled out within 28 days.
There were 261,006 urgent cancer referrals by GPs in England in June, up 6% on 245,595 in May and up 13% year on year from 231,868 in June 2022.
– Cancer diagnostic waiting list
The number of patients in England waiting longer than 62 days since an urgent GP referral for suspected cancer stood at 21,529 in the week ending July 2, down from 24,180 in the week ending June 4.
The figure was nearly 34,000 at the end of September 2022.
Most of the patients included in the total do not have cancer and are waiting for a diagnostic test, while around one in seven do have cancer and are waiting for treatment.
The Government and NHS England set the ambition of returning this figure to pre-pandemic levels by March this year.
The average weekly figure for February 2020 (covering the four weeks to March 1) was 13,463.
– Accident & Emergency waits
Some 23,934 people had to wait more than 12 hours in A&E departments in England in July from a decision to admit to actually being admitted, down 10% from 26,531 in June.
The figure hit a record 54,573 in December 2022.
The number waiting at least four hours from the decision to admit to admission has also fallen, from 113,834 in June to 109,515 in July, a drop of 4%.
Meanwhile, 74.0% of patients were seen within four hours of arrival at A&E last month, up from 73.3% in June.
The figure hit a record low of 65.2% in December.
The NHS recovery plan sets a target of March 2024 for 76% of patients attending A&E to be admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours.
– Ambulance response times
The average response time in July for ambulances in England dealing with the most urgent incidents, defined as calls from people with life-threatening illnesses or injuries, was eight minutes and 21 seconds.
This is down from eight minutes and 41 seconds in June but is above the target standard response time of seven minutes.
Ambulances took an average of 31 minutes and 50 seconds last month to respond to emergency calls such as heart attacks, strokes and sepsis.
This is down from 36 minutes and 49 seconds in June, while the target is 18 minutes.
Response times for urgent calls, such as late stages of labour, non-severe burns and diabetes, averaged one hour, 50 minutes and nine seconds in July, down from two hours, five minutes and 40 seconds in June.
– Delayed discharges
An average of 11,877 hospital beds per day last month were occupied by people ready to be discharged.
This is down from 12,334 in June and 12,597 in May.
The equivalent figure for July 2022 was 13,049.
On average, 45% of patients ready to leave hospital last month were actually discharged each day, unchanged from June.
– Diagnostic tests
Just over 400,000 people in England had been waiting longer than six weeks for a key diagnostic test in June.
Some 403,127 patients, 25.2% of the total, were waiting longer than six weeks for one of 15 standard tests, including an MRI scan, non-obstetric ultrasound or gastroscopy.
The figure is down from 409,665 (25.9% of the total) in May and also lower than the equivalent figure for June 2022, which was 430,037 (27.5%).
The NHS elective recovery plan sets the ambition that 95% of patients needing a diagnostic test receive it within six weeks by March 2025.
