Our response to new hospital waiting list data
By 2029, the government is hoping to return to an NHS standard where 92% of patients have a hospital test, appointment or operation within 18 weeks of their referral. Unfortunately, the total list has grown and the latest official waiting times data shows that progress has stalled with only 61.3% of patients seen within this time by the end of July.
Healthwatch response
Commenting on the latest statistics, Ashley Green, Chief Executive at Healthwatch North Yorkshire said:
“There is still a long way to go in tackling the long elective care backlog, with today’s stats showing the scale of the challenge ahead.
“NHS teams are rightly doing as much as they can, including finding out who still needs help and who doesn’t. Yet for those who have waited weeks, months, or even years, any contact from the NHS mustn't leave them feeling further frustrated and forgotten.
“Keeping people informed and giving them help while they wait can make a huge difference. We urge the NHS to ensure that communication with those on waiting lists includes a clear update on their situation and an offer of support where needed.”
Recent research by the Nuffield Trust and the Health Foundation found there have been similar numbers of people joining the waiting list as leaving it in recent months, with “validation exercises” leading to modest improvements in the size of the total list compared to last summer.
These exercises are common and an important thing for trusts to do, as they include checking whether people still need to be on the waiting list, deleting duplicate data and updating data errors.
However, feedback to Healthwatch concerningly shows that for far too many people, the only contact they receive is a text to ask if they still needed care, with a lack information on how to manage their condition, access to pain relief or mental health support, or updates on how much longer they would have to wait.
What people told Healthwatch locally
The stories people in North Yorkshire have shared include:
“Having been finally diagnosed with type 2 narcolepsy after years of misdiagnosis, I was referred to hospital. I waited months before hearing anything, and by then my symptoms had worsened. The process was poor. I felt unsupported.”
“I am a carer for my son. He was admitted to a local mental health ward for adults. The level of support was very poor. Communication was inconsistent. I was left unsure of what was happening with his care.”
“I moved in with my mother as she was lonely and in poor health. She was taken from her home and placed on a hospital ward. The experience was very poor; we felt left in the dark and her care was inadequate.”
Latest A&E and cancer data
The latest national statistics on waiting times in A&E and for cancer treatment were also released in September 2025.
At the end of July 2025, over 300,000 people nationally were waiting for cancer to be diagnosed or ruled out within 28 days of an urgent referral. A record 236,263 people were seen within 28 days, however this equates to 76.6% of patients, above the national standard of 75% but down slightly from 76.7% in June.
Healthwatch England recently published your latest feedback on experiences of cancer waits and treatment.
There were 2,265,945 attendances at A&E departments in England in August, down from 2.4 million in July. This was the busiest August ever, but despite being a quieter collective month for national A&E performance than July, only 75.9% of people were admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours of arrival, down from 76.4%.
Conclusion
Hospital waiting lists remain one of the biggest challenges facing our health service. September’s figures underline how far there is to go, but behind every statistic are people whose health, dignity and daily lives are being affected. In North Yorkshire, we’ve heard from carers, patients and families who feel forgotten while they wait, often in pain. Many people tell us they receive little information about what will happen next.
Healthwatch will continue to make sure these voices are heard. We are calling on the NHS to improve communication with patients, offer clearer updates about waiting times, and provide practical support while people wait. By listening and responding to what matters most to patients, the NHS can rebuild trust and ensure that care is not just delivered, but felt.
