What the latest NHS performance figures show

Ambulance response times have lengthened and some cancer referral figures have got worse, while the overall NHS waiting list continues to climb.

Here are the key figures from the latest NHS performance data for England:

– Overall waiting list

The number of people waiting to start routine hospital treatment has reached a new record high.

An estimated 7.75 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of August, up from 7.68 million in July.

It is the highest number since records began in August 2007.

The waiting list has been growing for much of the last 10 years, passing three million in 2014, four million in 2017, five million in 2021 and seven million in 2022.

In February 2020, the last full month before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, it stood at 4.57 million.

Since then, the list has increased by just over three million.

– Waits of longer than 18 months

There were 8,998 people waiting more than 18 months to start routine hospital treatment at the end of August, up from 7,289 at the end of July.

The Government and NHS England set the ambition of eliminating all waits of more than 18 months by April this year, excluding exceptionally complex cases or patients who choose to wait longer.

– Waits of more than a year

A total of 396,643 people had been waiting more than 52 weeks to start routine hospital treatment at the end of August, up from 389,952 at the end of July.

The Government and NHS England have set the ambition of eliminating all waits of more than a year by March 2025.

– Cancer referrals

The proportion of patients seen by a cancer specialist within two weeks of being referred urgently by their GP fell from 77.5% in July to 74.8% in August, remaining below the target of 93%.

The 93% figure is one of several cancer targets that are being discontinued from this October as part of an agreement by the Government and NHS England to streamline performance standards.

Some 62.8% of cancer patients who had their first treatment in August after an urgent GP referral had waited less than two months, up slightly from 62.6% in July.

The target is 85% and will remain one of the key cancer measures following the overhaul of performance standards.

Meanwhile, 71.6% of patients urgently referred for suspected cancer were diagnosed or had cancer ruled out within 28 days, down from 74.1% the previous month.

The target is 75% and this will also remain one of the performance standards beyond October.

There were 267,555 urgent cancer referrals by GPs in England in August, up 1% on 263,696 in July and up 4% year-on-year from 256,942 in August 2022.

– Cancer diagnostic waiting list

The number of patients in England waiting longer than 62 days since an urgent GP referral for suspected cancer was 23,809 in the week ending September 3, up from 21,016 in the week ending August 6.

The figure was nearly 34,000 at the end of September 2022.

Most of the patients included in this total do not have cancer and are waiting for a diagnostic test, while around one in seven do have cancer and are waiting for treatment.

The Government and NHS England set the ambition of returning this figure to pre-pandemic levels by March this year.

The average weekly figure for the pre-pandemic month of February 2020 (covering the four weeks to March 1) was 13,463.

– Accident & emergency waits

Some 33,107 people had to wait more than 12 hours in A&E departments in England in September from a decision to admit to actually being admitted, up 15% from 28,859 in August.

The figure hit a record 54,573 in December 2022.

The number waiting at least four hours from the decision to admit to admission has also increased, from 120,120 in August to 125,829 in September, a rise of 5%.

Meanwhile, 71.6% of patients were seen within four hours in A&Es last month, down from 73.0% in August.

The figure hit a record low of 65.2% in December 2022.

The NHS recovery plan sets a target of March 2024 for 76% of patients attending A&E to be admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours.

– Ambulance response times

The average response time in September for ambulances in England dealing with the most urgent incidents, defined as calls from people with life-threatening illnesses or injuries, was eight minutes and 31 seconds, NHS figures show.

This is up from eight minutes and 17 seconds in August and is above the target standard response time of seven minutes.

Ambulances took an average of 37 minutes and 38 seconds last month to respond to emergency calls such as heart attacks, strokes and sepsis.

This is up from 31 minutes and 30 seconds in August, while the target is 18 minutes.

Response times for urgent calls, such as late stages of labour, non-severe burns and diabetes, averaged two hours, 15 minutes and 59 seconds in September, up from one hour, 45 minutes and 27 seconds in August.

– Delayed discharges

An average of 12,372 hospital beds per day last month were occupied by people ready to be discharged.

This is up from 11,913 in August and 11,877 in July.

The equivalent figure for September 2022 was 13,347.

On average, 45% of patients ready to leave hospital last month were actually discharged each day, down from 46% in August.

– Diagnostic tests

More than 425,000 people in England had been waiting longer than six weeks for a key diagnostic test in August.

Some 429,442 patients, 27.5% of the total, were waiting longer than six weeks for one of 15 standard tests, including an MRI scan, non-obstetric ultrasound or gastroscopy.

The figure is up from 405,438 (25.5% of the total) in July but lower than the equivalent figure for August 2022, which was 466,577 (30.5%).

The NHS elective recovery plan sets the ambition that 95% of patients needing a diagnostic test receive it within six weeks by March 2025.