• 65-week breaches rise by around 10 per cent to hit 56,000
  • Overall waiting list rises by 30,000 to near record 7.6 million
  • Four hours A&E performance improves despite record admissions

The number of 65-week elective waits has increased for consecutive months with the figure rising by more than ten per cent to around 56,000 in May, NHS England’s latest statistics show.

The data published today, the first official waiting time statistics under the new government, show the overall waiting list rose by around 31,000 to a near-record 7.6 million cases in May.

New health and social care secretary Wes Streeting has pledged to return the system to meet the 92 per cent 18-week referral to treatment target within five years, which experts estimate means cutting the list to around 3.5 million.

NHSE highlighted the continued demand pressure facing trusts. Data published last month showed accident and emergency in England reported their busiest ever month in May (around 2.4 million attendances).

And data published today showed this pressure continued with 2.29m A&E attendances reported in June and more than half a million admissions (536,884) – which NHSE said was the biggest figure for any June on record.

Despite the record June admissions, four-hour performance nudged up month-on-month, hitting 74.6 per cent (see below: Twenty trusts hit 78 per cent target).

Labour’s new long-term NHS plan is expected in the autumn. But NHSE’s immediate concern is to virtually eliminate the number of 65-week waiters by September – a target already pushed back from March.

While the NHS’s elective priorities are now under review, the 65-week target was set out in the 2024-25 planning guidance – and is an ambition trusts have been working towards for some time.

University Hospitals Sussex Foundation Trust reported the most 65-week breaches in May, both in absolute terms (5,245) and also when looked at as a proportion of the total list size (3.7 per cent).

Other trusts with long backlogs include Mid and South Essex FT (2,167); Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals FT (1,977); East Kent University Hospitals FT (1,800); and Barts Health Trust (1,592) (full table below).

Publication of the statistics this morning followed the government announcing overnight it has commissioned former minister, surgeon and academic Lord Ara Darzi to carry out an independent review of NHS performance.

Twenty trusts hit 78 per cent A&E target

Performance against the four-hour A&E target for all patients rose from 74 per cent in May to 74.6 per cent in June.

Twenty trusts met NHSE’s target for 2024-25 for four hours of performance to reach 78 per cent in June (see full list below).

However, Mr Streeting has pledged that the system will return to hitting the 95 per cent threshold within five years – a pledge many senior leaders believe is not possible to meet.

Long waits in A&E have increased year-on-year. There were 129,662 12-hour waits in A&E from time of arrival in June (9.8 per cent of attendance), compared with 104,020 in the same month last year (7.7 per cent of attendance), although the latest month’s figure was down from the 146,203 recorded in May.

Meanwhile, key ambulance response times slipped last month – despite a fall in the number of incidents. Category 1 cases, which include the most serious life-threatening cases, were reached in an average of 8m 21s compared with 8m 16s in May.

Category 2 incidents, including suspected stroke and heart attacks, were reached in 34m 38s, compared with 32m 44s in May.

Both missed the NHS Constitution targets of 7m and 18m – and the category 2 performance was also outside NHSE’s target for the year of 30m.

The new government has said it wants to reach the constitutional targets by the end of the Parliament.

NHSE medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis praised frontline teams for “continuing to work exceptionally hard under significant [demand] pressure”.

Table 1: Trusts ranked by number of 65-week breaches 

Provider NameTotal incomplete pathwaysTotal 65 plus weeks breachesProportion of incomplete pathways waiting over 65 weeks
University Hospitals Sussex FT 141,506 5,245 3.7%
Mid and South Essex FT 165,660 2,167 1.3%
Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals FT 85,946 1,977 2.3%
East Kent Hospitals University FT 87,486 1,800 2.1%
Barts Health Trust 122,701 1,592 1.3%
Royal Free London FT 107,332 1,558 1.5%
North West Anglia FT 82,126 1,437 1.7%
Milton Keynes University Hospital FT 36,990 1,258 3.4%
University Hospitals of North Midlands Trust 79,342 1,136 1.4%
Guy’s and St Thomas’ FT 138,379 1,130 0.8%
Manchester University FT 188,986 1,105 0.6%
Portsmouth Hospitals University National Health Service Trust 62,545 1,044 1.7%
University Hospitals of Derby and Burton FT 106,758 1,015 1.0%
Royal Devon University Healthcare FT 75,145 979 1.3%
Oxford University Hospitals FT 82,986 975 1.2%
James Paget University Hospitals FT 30,798 954 3.1%
London North West University Healthcare Trust 103,955 952 0.9%
Bedfordshire Hospitals FT 100,825 904 0.9%
King’s College Hospital FT 100,039 847 0.8%
The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust 44,042 824 1.9%
Northern Care Alliance FT 145,174 768 0.5%
Lewisham and Greenwich Trust 68,341 752 1.1%
Bolton FT 44,435 747 1.7%
Imperial College Healthcare Trust 98,359 693 0.7%
University Hospitals Plymouth Trust 48,016 620 1.3%
East Suffolk and North Essex FT 87,892 576 0.7%
Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Trust 80,977 572 0.7%
The Princess Alexandra Hospital Trust 29,389 571 1.9%
Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust 91,228 568 0.6%
Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals Trust 76,242 537 0.7%
Gloucestershire Hospitals FT 69,802 522 0.7%
Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals FT 36,447 520 1.4%
Frimley Health FT 85,306 518 0.6%
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals FT 95,021 504 0.5%
Stockport FT 38,353 501 1.3%
Cambridge University Hospitals FT 63,659 499 0.8%
Somerset FT 54,987 482 0.9%
West Suffolk FT 35,138 476 1.4%
The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals FT 100,892 476 0.5%
Worcestershire Acute Hospitals Trust 61,984 463 0.7%
Nottingham University Hospitals Trust 87,026 456 0.5%
Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust 43,563 409 0.9%
Royal Surrey County Hospital FT 39,980 397 1.0%
Torbay and South Devon FT 34,263 393 1.1%
University Hospitals Dorset FT 68,317 393 0.6%
Medway FT 43,831 392 0.9%
East and North Hertfordshire Trust 58,061 379 0.7%
Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh FT 55,222 370 0.7%
University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire Trust 69,431 365 0.5%
Mid Yorkshire Teaching Trust 55,824 357 0.6%
United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust 71,078 349 0.5%
Chelsea and Westminster Hospital FT 61,540 348 0.6%
Dorset County Hospital FT 22,180 342 1.5%
Wirral University Teaching Hospital FT 44,379 328 0.7%
The Royal Wolverhampton Trust 92,357 318 0.3%
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals FT 58,790 317 0.5%
Hampshire Hospitals FT 52,793 316 0.6%
The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital FT 15,810 314 2.0%
Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals Trust 66,261 312 0.5%
Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells Trust 44,168 301 0.7%
West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals Trust 55,666 289 0.5%
East Lancashire Hospitals Trust 72,275 274 0.4%
South Tees Hospitals FT 56,248 260 0.5%
Surrey and Sussex Healthcare Trust 47,801 254 0.5%
The Dudley Group FT 48,375 254 0.5%
Northampton General Hospital Trust 42,856 253 0.6%
Chesterfield Royal Hospital FT 28,706 251 0.9%
Great Western Hospitals FT 40,756 250 0.6%
North Cumbria Integrated Care FT 40,995 248 0.6%
Mid Cheshire Hospitals FT 38,483 232 0.6%
University Hospitals Bristol and Weston FT 59,321 232 0.4%
North Bristol Trust 46,740 227 0.5%
University Hospitals Birmingham FT 129,574 219 0.2%
Countess of Chester Hospital FT 30,649 209 0.7%
University Hospitals of Leicester Trust 111,037 206 0.2%
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals FT 34,229 167 0.5%
York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals FT 45,643 162 0.4%
University College London Hospitals FT 73,486 150 0.2%
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children FT 8,219 149 1.8%
Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals FT 55,892 145 0.3%
Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals Trust 49,728 140 0.3%
Liverpool Women’s FT 18,221 135 0.7%
Salisbury FT 27,410 129 0.5%
Sherwood Forest Hospitals FT 35,856 129 0.4%
Wye Valley Trust 24,176 126 0.5%
Dartford and Gravesham Trust 29,769 121 0.4%
Buckinghamshire Healthcare Trust 51,631 109 0.2%
South Warwickshire University FT 33,931 100 0.3%
Sheffield Children’s FT 13,529 95 0.7%
Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals FT 56,544 91 0.2%
Liverpool University Hospitals FT 75,900 71 0.1%
South Tyneside and Sunderland FT 61,701 70 0.1%
Bradford Teaching Hospitals FT 35,733 67 0.2%
Whittington Health Trust 19,065 66 0.3%
Homerton Healthcare FT 33,866 55 0.2%
University Hospital Southampton FT 59,805 55 0.1%
Northern Lincolnshire and Goole FT 46,391 53 0.1%
Queen Victoria Hospital FT 18,496 51 0.3%
North Middlesex University Hospital Trust 24,616 42 0.2%
Alder Hey Children’s FT 23,978 41 0.2%
Croydon Health Services Trust 34,952 41 0.1%
Royal United Hospitals Bath FT 36,176 41 0.1%
The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital FT 15,731 40 0.3%
East Cheshire Trust 12,475 38 0.3%
The Hillingdon Hospitals FT 29,502 38 0.1%
East Sussex Healthcare Trust 53,921 36 0.1%
The Rotherham FT 30,901 34 0.1%
Isle of Wight Trust 13,496 33 0.2%
St George’s University Hospitals FT 64,078 32 0.0%
Hull University Teaching Hospitals Trust 76,421 27 0.0%
Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital FT 5,555 26 0.5%
George Eliot Hospital Trust 15,994 23 0.1%
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, King’s Lynn, FT 26,454 20 0.1%
Kettering General Hospital FT 27,804 19 0.1%
Barnsley Hospital FT 22,009 16 0.1%
University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay FT 31,792 15 0.0%
Royal Papworth Hospital FT 7,023 13 0.2%
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough FT 321 11 3.4%
Airedale FT 14,647 11 0.1%
Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital Trust 8,054 9 0.1%
The Walton Centre FT 17,216 5 0.0%
North Tees and Hartlepool FT 20,745 4 0.0%
Moorfields Eye Hospital FT 35,682 4 0.0%
Leeds Community Healthcare Trust 229 2 0.9%
The Royal Marsden FT 1,970 2 0.1%
County Durham and Darlington FT 42,188 2 0.0%
Bradford District Care FT 452 1 0.2%
The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre FT 1,236 1 0.1%
Birmingham Women’s and Children’s FT 26,872 1 0.0%
Walsall Healthcare Trust 30,418 1 0.0%
Kingston Hospital FT 40,525 1 0.0%
Calderdale and Huddersfield FT 35,523 0 0.0%
Northumbria Healthcare FT 35,186 0 0.0%
Royal Berkshire FT 32,790 0 0.0%
Harrogate and District FT 22,982 0 0.0%
Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care FT 21,400 0 0.0%
Birmingham Community Healthcare FT 16,200 0 0.0%
Shropshire Community Health Trust 13,238 0 0.0%
Gateshead Health FT 11,913 0 0.0%
Midlands Partnership FT 6,155 0 0.0%
Sussex Community FT 5,547 0 0.0%
The Christie FT 4,509 0 0.0%
Southern Health FT 3,921 0 0.0%
Kent Community Health FT 3,232 0 0.0%
South West Yorkshire Partnership FT 3,130 0 0.0%
Oxleas FT 2,182 0 0.0%
West London Trust 2,056 0 0.0%
Central and North West London FT 1,756 0 0.0%
Lancashire & South Cumbria FT 1,371 0 0.0%
Essex Partnership University FT 1,089 0 0.0%
Cornwall Partnership FT 955 0 0.0%
Berkshire Healthcare FT 299 0 0.0%
Solent Trust 197 0 0.0%
Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear FT 195 0 0.0%
Lincolnshire Partnership FT 134 0 0.0%
Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care Trust 65 0 0.0%
Mersey Care FT 58 0 0.0%

Table 2: The 20 trusts hitting the 78 per cent four-hour A&E benchmark 

NamePercentage in 4 hours or less (all)
England 74.6%
   
North Tees and Hartlepool FT 90.0%
Northumbria Healthcare FT 88.6%
Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells Trust 83.6%
Bradford Teaching Hospitals FT 83.3%
West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals Trust 82.6%
Norfolk and Norwich UH FT 82.3%
Homerton Healthcare FT 82.1%
Kettering General Hospital FT 82.0%
St George’s UH FT 81.8%
The Dudley Group FT 81.6%
The Royal Wolverhampton Trust 81.0%
Chelsea and Westminster Hospital FT 80.5%
East Lancashire Hospitals Trust 80.3%
Barking, Havering and Redbridge UHT 79.4%
East Sussex Healthcare Trust 79.1%
Medway FT 79.0%
Royal Surrey County Hospital FT 79.0%
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals FT 78.8%
UH Morecambe Bay FT 78.6%
Dorset County Hospital FT 78.1%

Source

NHS England data

Source Date

July 2024

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