Surgeons: Government must set out roadmap for meeting 18-week waiting time target

• Target missed: 22,903 waiting over 65 weeks in September 2024  
• Total waiting list falls to 7.57 million as NHS heads for winter 
 
The Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England) is calling on the government to publish a roadmap for meeting the 18-week waiting time target as part of the 10 Year Health Plan for England. The call comes as data published today (14 November) shows the NHS failed to eliminate waits of over 65 weeks in September 2024.  
 
Surgeons have warned winter pressures could derail efforts to eliminate very long waits for the foreseeable future, and set back the government’s plan to clear 18-week waits within the next five years. They say the government should set out a detailed year-by-year plan for how the NHS will meet the 18-week pledge, including annual targets for reducing waits of over a year and the total waiting list. 
 
The latest NHS performance data, for September 2024, shows the total waiting list for consultant-led hospital treatment in England fell to 7.57 million in September 2024. Some patients are on multiple pathways. The number of individual patients is estimated to be around 6.3 million, according to NHS England. 
 
Responding to the latest data, Professor Peter Friend, Vice President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, said: 
 
“Staff are working tirelessly to get the NHS back to delivering timely care. However, with the 65-week ambition missed and a very difficult winter ahead, progress will be slow. That means more people living in pain and unable to work, and in some cases needing emergency treatment, putting yet more strain on the NHS.  
 
“The new government has consistently said it will meet its manifesto pledge to clear 18-week waits by the end of this parliament, but a survey of NHS leaders this week suggests this is ‘unlikely’. We would like to see the government chart the course by setting out a clear roadmap for meeting this waiting time target as part of the 10 Year Health Plan. This will make progress measurable and give the public confidence that the extra funding the NHS has received is being well spent.” 
 
ENDS 
 
Note to editors: 
 
1. NHS England’s latest consultant-led referral to treatment waiting times data is available here: 
    https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/rtt-data-2023-24/  
 
2. The total number of patient pathways on the waiting list is 7,573,212. 
 
3. NHS England set an ambition to eliminate waits of over 65 weeks by March 2024 in the elective recovery plan published in February 2022. This ambition was missed in March 2024.  NHS England’s ‘Priorities and operational planning guidance 2024/25’ set a revised ambition to eliminate waits of over 65 weeks for elective care as soon as possible and by September 2024 at the latest (except where patients choose to wait longer or in specific specialties). See planning guidance and target (page 8) here:  2024/25 priorities and operational planning guidance (england.nhs.uk)  
 
4. The Royal College of Surgeons of England provides world-class education, assessment, and development to 30,000 surgeons, dental professionals, and members of the wider surgical and dental care teams, at all stages of their careers. Our vision is to see excellent surgical care for everyone. We do this by setting professional standards, facilitating research, and championing the best outcomes for patients.  
 
5. For more information, please contact the Press Office: Telephone: 020 7869 6053/6054/6047; Email: pressoffice@rcseng.ac.uk; Out-of-hours media enquiries: 0207 869 6056.