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The overall NHS waiting list has fallen by almost 16,000 from August to 7.39 million in September - but experts say this is not enough
Rebecca WhittakerWednesday 26 November 2025 17:00 GMTComments
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The NHS needs to cut its elective waiting list by more than half to achieve the government's 18-week target, experts have warned.
There are currently 7.4 million people on the elective waiting list for non-emergency procedures, but this needs to be slashed to 3.4 million over the next three years to hit the target of 92 per cent of patients waiting no longer than 18 weeks for treatment, a study has revealed.
That’s about one million additional removals from the waiting list each year – through completed treatment, surgery, or discharge where no further action is required.
Experts from the NHS, the University of Bath, Lancaster University and Durham University found this standard was last met in 2015. In September 2025, just 61.8 per cent of patients started elective treatment within 18 weeks or less.
“The NHS waiting list is more than just a figure. It represents real people that are likely living in pain and discomfort. This only gets worse as treatment is delayed, often leading to more complex and intensive care needs,” said Dr Hilary Williams, Royal College of Physicians (RCP) clinical vice president.
The NHS waiting list for non-emergency procedures need to half to meet government targets (PA)“This study adds to the growing evidence that people in some regions are waiting significantly longer for elective treatment than others. These regional disparities are unjust and risks contributing to wider health inequalities.”
It comes as the Labour government has set the NHS in England an ambitious target to restore the 18-week referral-to-treatment standard by the end of the current parliament.
However, the study published in the Royal College of Physicians’ Future Healthcare Journal revealed this milestone will not be reached if no changes are made.
Although the overall waiting list has fallen by almost 16,000 from August to 7.39 million in September, the RCP warns it is not enough.
The majority of people on NHS waiting lists in England in need of an outpatient appointment rather than an operation, the RCP says reform of planned specialist care is essential to reduce waiting lists.
“We need a more forward thinking, patient centred and proactive approach that does not just let patients ‘wait’ for surgery but initiates programmes to pre-habilitate and prepare patients for treatment and in many cases will remove the requirement or at least push back that requirement,” Dr Mark Mikhail, NHS doctor and CEO of the Healthcare company, told The Independent.
“The current approach causes a huge strain on the health service and delays result in further cost with more appointments and more extreme treatment requirements as patients deteriorate whilst waiting.”
Surgical specialists such as trauma and orthopaedics need to cut their waiting list the most, with cardiothoracic surgery (the heart and chest) seeing more harm from long waits, the study revealed.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Waiting lists are falling for the first time in over a decade thanks to our modernisation and record investment. We’ve cut backlogs by more than 230,000 and over-achieved on our target for additional appointments – delivering more than five million extra.
“Health service productivity is up 2.7 per cent on the last financial year, we’re saving billions by cutting bureaucracy, and our rollout of community diagnostic centres, many of which are now open 12 hours a day, seven days a week, is delivering more tests, checks and scans closer to home.
“But we know there’s more to do. We’ve set an ambitious but achievable target to get 92 per cent of patients seen within 18 weeks by the end of this parliament – something that hasn’t been achieved in more than a decade.”
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