NHS delays hit 9-month high with more than 6 million now awaiting routine treatment – experts say scorching summer is to blame
NHS waiting lists have climbed to their highest levels in almost a year as the health service struggles to recover from its busiest ever summer, figures reveal.
The waiting list for routine hospital treatment in England hit 7.33 million in July – the highest total since October 2025, when it stood at 7.4 million.
That represents around 6.21 million people, some of whom are waiting for more than one treatment.
The figures, published by NHS England, show that more than 111,000 delays had stretched beyond a year.
More than 9,000 exceeded 15 months and almost 1,500 surpassed a year-and-a-half.
A total of 235 cases have gone beyond a two-year wait.
The data covers how long patients wait to start treatment after a non-emergency GP referral, and includes appointments for gynaecology, orthopedics, digestive complaints and physiotherapy.
The NHS aims to start treatment within 18 weeks, but just 65.4 per cent of those on the list were within that target.
NHS waiting lists have climbed to their highest levels in almost a year as the health service reels from its busiest ever summer, figures reveal
It comes just days after an investigation revealed the NHS ordered bosses to deliberately delay care to control costs and demand.
More than half of health boards in England now enforce minimum waiting times of up to 16 weeks for the likes of hip, knee and cataract surgery.
This means Britons can be left waiting in pain even if hospitals have capacity to see them sooner.
Separate figures published today revealed that the waiting times for diagnostic tests have also shot up over the last year.
More than 1.9 million patients in England are waiting for tests that allow them to begin specialist treatment – a rise of more than 170,000 from last July.
The health service insists that it remains on track to reach its waiting time targets.
It also announced today that it had seen its busiest summer with scorching temperatures straining accident and emergency (A&E) services.
Officials reported more than 7.2 million A&E attendances across June, July and August – around 240,000 more than the same period last year.
The UK experienced five heatwaves over the summer, with experts warning that hotter summers are leaving the health service less time to recover before winter.
Sarah Woolnough, chief executive of health think-tank The King’s Fund, said the NHS is facing a ‘twin crisis with summer joining winter as a major pressure on services’.
Amid record demand, the NHS said staff treated, admitted or discharged almost 5.5 million A&E patients within four hours – the highest summer total recorded.
NHS national medical director Frankie Swords said staff had ‘risen to the challenge magnificently to deliver for patients’.
‘While the NHS has been preparing for the coming winter earlier than ever before, we have never gone into winter on the back of such a heavy summer.’
Health secretary Yvette Cooper added: ‘I want to pay tribute to the incredible dedication of NHS staff. Despite unprecedented demand, they managed to see a record number of patients within four hours in A&E over the summer.’
Ms Cooper said the reality is that ‘extreme demand’ on the NHS ‘is no longer confined to winter’.
The Government this week announced £1.5billion in funding to help NHS hospitals deal with year-round pressure.
