England's NHS waiting list fell to 7.39 million treatments at the end of September, down from 7.41 million the previous month. The reduction marks the first decline after three consecutive monthly increases and offers a rare positive data point for the health service. However, the figure still affects 6.24 million patients and remains well above pre-pandemic levels of 4.57 million treatments in February 2020.
The proportion of patients waiting less than 18 weeks reached 61.8 percent, the best performance in over two years. Yet this remains far below the government's 92 percent target. Some 180,329 people are still waiting more than a year for treatment, though this represents a decrease from 190,549 in August.
Cancer targets continue to slip
Cancer treatment performance deteriorated in September. Only 73.9 percent of patients urgently referred for suspected cancer were diagnosed or had cancer ruled out within 28 days, down from 74.6 percent in August and below the 75 percent target. The government aims to achieve 80 percent by March 2026. Treatment initiation also fell short, with 67.9 percent of patients receiving first definitive treatment within 62 days of urgent referral, down from 69.1 percent the previous month.
Emergency department pressures intensified in October. So-called corridor care, where patients wait more than 12 hours from admission decision to actual admission, affected 54,314 people, up from 44,765 in September. Professor Meghana Pandit, NHS England's medical director, called the waiting list reduction «fantastic news» but warned that «Flu is peaking early and looking like it will be long lasting, while industrial action is starting on Friday.»
Difficult winter ahead
The health service faces mounting challenges. Flu rates stand three times higher than at this stage last winter, despite 14.4 million people receiving vaccinations. A five-day walkout by resident doctors begins Friday at 7am, the 13th strike in the ongoing dispute with the British Medical Association. Health Secretary Wes Streeting acknowledged progress, stating «There's a long way to go, but the NHS is now on the road to recovery.» Tim Gardner from the Health Foundation said the figures «present a challenging outlook for the NHS, particularly as it heads into what NHS leaders have warned is likely to be one of the toughest winters the health service has faced.»
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
