health and care · the national record
The NHS waiting list: what 7.3 million pathways actually means
At the end of May 2026 there were 7,278,384 referral to treatment pathways on which a patient was waiting to start consultant led hospital treatment in England, NHS England's own headline figure including its estimates for two trusts that did not submit data. Because some people wait on more than one pathway at once, NHS England estimates this represents around 6.2 million individual patients. 65.6 per cent had been waiting up to 18 weeks, against a standard of 92 per cent that has not been met since September 2015.
How to read this
A pathway starts when a GP or other clinician refers a patient for consultant led treatment, and ends when treatment starts (or the patient is removed for another reason). The waiting list is the count of unfinished pathways at month end, not a count of people: NHS England's linkage of the May 2026 list to unique NHS numbers found 85 pathways per 100 belonged to distinct patients, which is where the estimate of around 6.2 million people comes from. The 18 week standard is that 92 per cent of the list should have been waiting 18 weeks or less.
Computed from NHS England's RTT Overview Timeseries (including estimates for missing trusts) and the May 2026 full CSV extract, both published 9 July 2026. Every headline figure on this page is asserted at build time against NHS England's own statistical press notice for May 2026; the build fails on any mismatch.
the list
7,278,384 pathways, around 6.2 million people
The 7,278,384 figure includes NHS England's estimates for Sheffield Teaching Hospitals and Torbay and South Devon, which submitted no May data. Without those estimates the reported list is 7,153,655. The list is 77,566 pathways smaller than a year earlier, a fall of 1.1 per cent.
how it grew
From 4.6 million to 7.8 million and part way back
On the eve of the pandemic, in February 2020, the list stood at 4,573,675 with 82.9 per cent within 18 weeks. It peaked at 7,768,573 in September 2023. Three years of slow decline have brought it to 7,278,384: still roughly 59 per cent larger than before the pandemic, on a standard last met in September 2015.
Incomplete RTT pathways at the end of May each year, England, including NHS England’s estimates for non-reporting trusts where published. The list peaked at 7,768,573 in Sep 2023. Source: NHS England RTT overview timeseries.
the long tail
104,734 waiting more than a year
In May 2019 just 1,255 pathways had been open more than 52 weeks. The pandemic took that to 436,127 by March 2021. It now stands at 104,734: vastly better than the peak, still more than eighty times the pre pandemic norm. The very longest waits have been almost eliminated: two year waits peaked at 24,424 in January 2022 and now number 177.
Pathways open longer than each threshold at the end of May 2026, England, including estimates for non-reporting trusts, with each measure’s post-2012 peak. In May 2019 only 1,255 pathways were open more than 52 weeks. Source: NHS England RTT overview timeseries.
the treadmill
1.7 million joined in a single month
The list is not a queue that stands still. During May 2026, 1,725,997 new pathways were started, 293,707 were completed with admitted treatment and 1,133,648 were completed in other ways. The list shrinks only when completions and removals outpace a relentless intake; this is why even record treatment volumes move the total slowly.
where the waiting is
Trauma and orthopaedics is the biggest queue
Incomplete pathways by specialty, from the May 2026 full extract. These figures are on a commissioner basis and exclude the two non-reporting trusts, so they sum to the reported 7,153,655 rather than the estimated headline. Percentages are the share of each queue waiting up to 18 weeks.
827,960 waiting · 18,289 over 52 weeks
624,531 waiting · 4,748 over 52 weeks
622,548 waiting · 4,731 over 52 weeks
594,331 waiting · 12,682 over 52 weeks
571,683 waiting · 11,178 over 52 weeks
467,527 waiting · 6,595 over 52 weeks
384,201 waiting · 4,410 over 52 weeks
381,497 waiting · 7,090 over 52 weeks
378,421 waiting · 2,849 over 52 weeks
378,077 waiting · 5,117 over 52 weeks
370,047 waiting · 3,328 over 52 weeks
322,761 waiting · 4,148 over 52 weeks
321,311 waiting · 7,414 over 52 weeks
207,581 waiting · 1,902 over 52 weeks
190,661 waiting · 666 over 52 weeks
159,338 waiting · 1,512 over 52 weeks
117,953 waiting · 1,107 over 52 weeks
102,390 waiting · 2,809 over 52 weeks
56,612 waiting · 1,001 over 52 weeks
Incomplete pathways by treatment function, England, end of May 2026, specialties with at least 50,000 waiting. Bars show queue size; red marks specialties below the national 18 week share. Excludes Sheffield Teaching Hospitals and Torbay and South Devon (no May submission) and 30,578 non-contracted pathways. Source: NHS England RTT full CSV extract.
the postcode dimension
18 week performance by integrated care board
The share of the list waiting up to 18 weeks in each of England's 36 integrated care boards, best to worst, on the same reported (no estimates) basis as the specialty table. Boards whose patients are treated by a non-reporting trust are understated accordingly.
Highest share within 18 weeks
77,370 waiting
87,242 waiting
364,765 waiting
63,322 waiting
66,437 waiting
241,702 waiting
109,208 waiting
251,863 waiting
Lowest share within 18 weeks
285,616 waiting
132,064 waiting
109,245 waiting
220,850 waiting
125,194 waiting
91,448 waiting
406,045 waiting
216,192 waiting
Share of incomplete pathways within 18 weeks by the commissioning integrated care board, end of May 2026, all 36 boards ranked, best and worst eight shown. Reported data only, no estimates for non-reporting trusts. Source: NHS England RTT full CSV extract.
honest questions
What this page can and cannot tell you
- 1.
Is the waiting list 7.3 million people?
No. It is 7.3 million pathways. One person referred for a hip and a cataract is on two pathways. NHS England's own linkage puts the number of individual patients at around 6.2 million, and that estimate is published alongside the headline, not buried.
- 2.
Is the list falling?
Slowly. It is 77,566 smaller than a year ago, 1.1 per cent, and has been drifting down since the September 2023 peak. At that pace, returning to the February 2020 size would take decades; the more achievable target being pursued is the 18 week share, which has risen 4.6 percentage points in a year.
- 3.
Why do different NHS waiting figures disagree?
This page covers consultant led elective care in England only. Diagnostic tests, cancer pathways, mental health referrals and community services have separate waiting lists with separate standards, and Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland publish their own figures on different definitions. Adding any of them together produces a number no publisher stands behind.
- 4.
How solid are these numbers?
Two acute trusts submitted nothing for May 2026, so NHS England estimates their contribution from their latest returns; this page uses those official estimates for headlines and the reported data for breakdowns, labelling each. Past months are also revised: the May release corrected December 2025 and March 2026 figures from two providers.
Sources & method
Data provenance
- NHS England, Referral to Treatment (RTT) Waiting Times, May 2026 (overview timeseries including estimates for missing trusts; full CSV extract; statistical press notice), published 9 July 2026 ↗· Open Government Licence v3.0
Caveats & data notes
- Pathways, not people. Around 6.2 million unique patients stand behind 7,278,384 pathways (85 pathways per 100 are distinct patients, from NHS England's waiting list minimum data set linkage taken on 30 June 2026).
- Headline figures include NHS England's estimates for Sheffield Teaching Hospitals and Torbay and South Devon, which did not submit May 2026 data. The specialty and ICB tables use reported data only and are labelled as such.
- The median (12.4 weeks) and 92nd percentile (38.6 weeks) waits do not include estimates for missing trusts; NHS England publishes them on the reported basis only.
- England only, consultant led elective care only. The four nations publish separate, non-comparable waiting lists, and diagnostics, cancer and mental health waits are separate series.
- From February 2024 community service pathways were removed from RTT reporting, a definitional break NHS England flags in the release; comparisons across that date slightly flatter the later figures.
- Figures are revised: the May 2026 release corrected December 2025 and March 2026 data from two providers. NHS England states the revisions have no significant national impact.
- The commissioner basis excludes 30,578 non-contracted pathways (commissioner code NONC); this exclusion is NHS England's own, and reproducing it is how this page's total reconciles exactly with the published figure.
Every figure on this page traces to its official source. Share it as it stands.
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