This NHS waiting list tracker follows NHS England's own monthly statistics. At the end of August 2026, 7.4 million referral-to-treatment pathways were open, belonging to around 6.2 million people, and 65.2% of them had waited 18 weeks or less, against a standard of 92%. Below are the headline numbers, the trend since March 2025, the specialties with the longest waits and the diagnostic test queue, each from the official release.
Short answer
The NHS waiting list in England stood at 7.4 million treatment pathways (about 6.2 million patients) at the end of August 2026, published on 8 October 2026. 65.2% had waited up to 18 weeks, up from 61% a year earlier but well short of the 92% standard; the median wait was 12.2 weeks and 113,339 pathways had passed 52 weeks.
- Waiting to start treatment
- 7.4 million pathways, around 6.2 million patients (August 2026)
- Within 18 weeks
- 65.2% (standard 92%)
- Waiting over 52 weeks
- 113,339 pathways
- Waiting for a diagnostic test
- 1,827,200 people, 24.7% over 6 weeks
The latest NHS waiting list figures (August 2026)
NHS England published the August 2026 figures on 8 October 2026. They count referral-to-treatment (RTT) pathways: the clock starts when a GP or other professional refers you for consultant-led care and stops when treatment starts. One person can be on more than one pathway, which is why NHS England gives two numbers.
- 7.4 million pathways were waiting to start treatment, or around 6.2 million individual patients by NHS England's estimate.
- 65.2% had waited up to 18 weeks. The standard is 92%.
- The median wait was 12.2 weeks; 8 in 100 (the 92nd percentile) had waited 38.8 weeks or more.
- 113,339 pathways had passed 52 weeks, 10,782 had passed 65 weeks, 1,637 had passed 78 weeks and 222 had passed two years.
- 1,717,335 new pathways started during the month.
- The list was 33,512 pathways shorter than at the end of August 2025, a fall of 0.5%.
4 trusts (Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, Torbay and South Devon, University Hospitals Plymouth and Northampton General) sent no data for August 2026. The headline list size and 18-week share include NHS England's estimates for them; the median and 92nd percentile do not.
The NHS waiting list month by month
The share of people seen within 18 weeks has moved from 59.8% in March 2025 to 65.2% in August 2026. Most of that gain came in one step, between February and March 2026, and it has stayed around 65% since. The press notice does not explain the jump, so treat it as the official figure rather than a trend to extend.
| Month end | Within 18 weeks | Median wait | 92nd percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 2026 | 65.2% | 12.2 weeks | 38.8 weeks |
| July 2026 | 65.4% | 12 weeks | 38.4 weeks |
| June 2026 | 65.8% | 11.9 weeks | 38.3 weeks |
| May 2026 | 65.6% | 12.4 weeks | 38.6 weeks |
| April 2026 | 65% | 11.9 weeks | 38.7 weeks |
| March 2026 | 65.3% | 11.3 weeks | 38.3 weeks |
| February 2026 | 62.6% | 13.2 weeks | 39.5 weeks |
| January 2026 | 61.5% | 13.6 weeks | 40.3 weeks |
| December 2025 | 61.5% | 13.4 weeks | 40.8 weeks |
| November 2025 | 61.8% | 12.9 weeks | 40.4 weeks |
| October 2025 | 61.8% | 13.3 weeks | 40.6 weeks |
| September 2025 | 61.8% | 13.4 weeks | 41.8 weeks |
| August 2025 | 61% | 13.5 weeks | 42.2 weeks |
| July 2025 | 61.3% | 13.1 weeks | 41.8 weeks |
| June 2025 | 61.5% | 13.4 weeks | 41.8 weeks |
| May 2025 | 60.9% | 13.6 weeks | 42.5 weeks |
| April 2025 | 59.7% | 13.3 weeks | 42.3 weeks |
| March 2025 | 59.8% | 13.8 weeks | 41.9 weeks |
Table 2 of NHS England's August 2026 RTT statistical press notice. The 18-week share includes estimates for trusts that did not report; the median and 92nd percentile do not.
Which specialties have the longest waits
The ten largest waiting lists by specialty, with the share of people within 18 weeks. Oral surgery has the lowest share of these, 53.8%. Trauma and orthopaedics, where hip and knee replacements sit, has the most people waiting.
| Specialty | Waiting | Within 18 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Trauma and orthopaedics (hips, knees) | 843,419 | 61.1% |
| Ophthalmology (eyes, including cataracts) | 622,784 | 72.2% |
| Ear, nose and throat | 589,316 | 56.8% |
| Gynaecology | 585,378 | 59.6% |
| Dermatology | 422,625 | 69% |
| General surgery | 384,427 | 63.2% |
| Urology | 366,130 | 64.9% |
| Cardiology | 360,799 | 67.9% |
| Gastroenterology | 357,430 | 69.7% |
| Oral surgery | 315,652 | 53.8% |
Table 1 of the press notice, without estimates for the 4 trusts that did not report. A specialty is not a single operation: trauma and orthopaedics includes fractures and back pain as well as joint replacements.
For a single procedure, our pages put the NHS figure next to private prices at home and abroad: NHS hip replacement waiting time, NHS knee replacement waiting time and NHS cataract surgery waiting time.
Waiting for a scan or test
Scans and scopes have their own list and their own pledge: nobody should wait six weeks or more from referral. At the end of August 2026, 1,827,200 people were waiting for one of 15 key diagnostic tests, 149,300 more than a year earlier. 451,000 of them (24.7%) had waited six weeks or more, against a standard of 1%. Over the past 12 months that share has ranged from 20.3% to 24.9%, and the median wait was 3.2 weeks.
| Test | Waiting six weeks or more |
|---|---|
| MRI scan | 22.0% waiting over 6 weeks |
| CT scan | 11.2% waiting over 6 weeks |
| Colonoscopy | 30.9% waiting over 6 weeks |
| Gastroscopy | 29.9% waiting over 6 weeks |
NHS England diagnostic waiting times report, August 2026. CT had the smallest share over six weeks of all 15 tests (11.2%); urodynamics the largest (46.3%).
What the NHS waiting list figures do not tell you
- Your own wait. A national median hides big differences between hospitals and specialties. Your hospital's current wait is the number that matters for you.
- The whole journey. The RTT clock runs from referral to the start of consultant-led treatment. Scans and scopes also have their own list, shown above.
- The rest of the UK. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland measure waits in their own ways, and NHS England advises care when comparing them.
- People versus pathways. 7.4 million is a count of pathways. NHS England's estimate of individual patients (around 6.2 million) comes from a separate patient-level dataset.
If you are on the list
- Ask your hospital for its expected wait for your specialty and procedure, not the national figure.
- Check the 18-week right. NHS England's diagnostic report describes it as a legal right under the NHS Constitution: treatment within 18 weeks of referral.
- Compare the cost of not waiting. Our wait-or-fly calculator lines up the NHS wait for a procedure with private prices at home and abroad.
- Before paying abroad, read whether the NHS will pay for treatment abroad, and how follow-up care works when you come home.
We update this NHS waiting list tracker when NHS England publishes the next month's figures. Each row above is copied from the official release named under it; nothing is estimated by us.