Surgeons: Budget must maintain momentum on NHS waiting times

Ahead of the Budget, surgeons are calling on the government to set out how it will provide the NHS with what is needed to deliver on its manifesto commitment to reduce waiting times.

While there has been some progress in reducing waiting times since the start of this parliament, the latest data demonstrates how quickly recovery can stall or reverse. A further climb in long waits, combined with continued stagnation in 18-week performance, and growth in the overall waiting list, reinforces the need to maintain momentum and ensure more patients are receiving the treatment they need sooner.

Only 65.2% of cases were waiting 18 weeks or less for treatment in August, again leaving the NHS well below the 92% standard the government has pledged to restore by March 2029.The number of cases waiting more than a year for elective treatment has also increased for the fifth consecutive month and is now over 20% (18,935 cases) higher than in March. The overall list now stands at 7,370,100.

New analysis from the Health Foundation, published today, suggests that rising referrals are making the government's 18-week pledge increasingly difficult to deliver. Its analysis projects that, if recent trends continue, the NHS will fall well short of the 92% target by the end of the parliament. It also finds that, if referrals continue to grow at the current rate, the growth in patients being removed from the waiting list would need to more than double, from 2.2% to over 4.5% a year, to meet the government’s pledge.

The analysis underlines the scale of the challenge facing the NHS and the need to maintain momentum in reducing waiting times rather than allowing progress to stall. The Budget is an opportunity for the government to set out how it will support the NHS to meet this challenge.

Commenting on the figures, Professor Peter Sagar, Vice-President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England), said:

“Surgeons see every day the toll that long waits can take on patients, with prolonged delays affecting their health, quality of life and, in some cases, leading to more complex treatment. Reducing these waiting times must remain a priority.

“To keep bringing waiting lists down, the NHS needs continued investment in its surgical workforce, hospitals and treatment capacity. The government must keep its foot on the pedal if it is to deliver lasting progress in reducing waiting times. The Budget is an opportunity to set out how it will provide the NHS with the extra capacity and resources needed to do this. This is vital to ensuring patients receive timely care and see lasting improvements in services.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

1. Latest NHS England RTT data is available at: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/rtt-data-2026-27/#Aug26
2. RCS England analysis is based on NHS England's monthly Consultant-led Referral to Treatment (RTT) Waiting Times statistics and Incomplete Commissioner RTT datasets. Regional projections were calculated using changes in 18-week RTT performance observed between May 2024 and July 2026 and projecting those rates of improvement to March 2029. These projections are RCS England’s own analysis and should not be interpreted as NHS England forecasts.
3. NHS England's Referral to Treatment (RTT) statistics measure treatment pathways rather than individual patients. In this press release, the use of ‘patients’ refers to ‘patient pathways’.
4. Health Foundation analysis: https://www.health.org.uk/reports-and-analysis/analysis/two-years-down-three-to-go-is-progress-on-waiting-times-stalling
5. For more information, please contact the press office: telephone: 020 7869 6054/6053; email: pressoffice@rcseng.ac.uk; out-of-hours media enquiries: 0207 869 6056.