Cancer referral rates for treatment have fallen while the size of the waiting list continues to grow, though A&E times have improved.
Here are the key figures from the latest NHS performance data for England:
– Overall waiting list
The number of people waiting to start routine hospital treatment has risen to a new record high.
An estimated 7.47 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of May, up from 7.42 million in April.
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”.
– Waits of more than a year
An estimated 385,022 people in England had been waiting more than 52 weeks to start routine hospital treatment at the end of May.
This is up from 371,111 at the end of April.
The Government and NHS England have set the ambition of eliminating all waits of more than a year by March 2025.
– Waits of more than 18 months
There were 11,446 people waiting more than 18 months to start routine hospital treatment at the end of May.
This is down slightly from 11,477 at the end of April.
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 a GP rose from 77.7% in April to 80.8% in May, but remained below the target of 93%.
Some 58.7% of cancer patients who had their first treatment in May after an urgent GP referral had waited less than two months, down from 61.0% in April and below the target of 85%.
A total of 71.3% of patients urgently referred for suspected cancer were diagnosed or had cancer ruled out within 28 days, unchanged from 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 245,595 urgent cancer referrals by GPs in England in May, up 13% on 218,060 in April and up slightly (0.1%) year-on-year from 245,449 in May 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 23,499 in the week ending May 28, up from 22,533 in the week ending April 30.
The figure stood at 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 to rule it out, 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 and emergency (A&E) waits
Some 26,531 people had to wait more than 12 hours in A&E departments in England in June from a decision to admit to actually being admitted, down 16% from 31,494 in May.
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 122,423 in May to 113,834 in June, a drop of 7%.
Meanwhile, 73.3% of patients were seen within four hours of arrival at A&E last month, down from 74.0% in May.
The figure hit a record low of 65.0% 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 June 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 41 seconds.
This is up from eight minutes and 17 seconds in May and is above the target standard response time of seven minutes.
Ambulances took an average of 36 minutes and 49 seconds last month to respond to emergency calls such as heart attacks, strokes and sepsis.
This is up from 32 minutes and 24 seconds in May, while the target is 18 minutes.
Response times for urgent calls, such as late stages of labour, non-severe burns and diabetes, averaged two hours, five minutes and 40 seconds in June, up from one hour, 46 minutes and eight seconds in May.
– Delayed discharges
An average of 12,334 hospital beds per day last month were occupied by people ready to be discharged.
This is down from 12,597 in May and 12,760 in April.
The equivalent figure for June 2022 was 11,590.
A daily average of 45% of patients ready to leave hospital last month were actually discharged, up from 43% in June 2022.
– Diagnostic tests
More than 400,000 people in England had been waiting longer than six weeks for a key diagnostic test in May.
Some 409,665 patients, 25.9% 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 430,804 (27.6% of the total) in April, though slightly above the equivalent figure for May 2022, which was 407,377 (26.0%).
The NHS elective recovery plan sets the ambition that 95% of patients needing a diagnostic test receive it within six weeks by March 2025.
