Hospital waiting times in England have improved, Streeting says
Summary
Hospitals in England have met a key target by treating 65.3% of NHS patients within 18 weeks in March, the first time above 65% since November 2021. Health Secretary Wes Streeting said this shows progress under Labour’s plan for the NHS, though some other targets like emergency and cancer care waits were missed.Key Facts
- Hospitals treated 65.3% of NHS patients within 18 weeks in March, surpassing the 65% target.
- Labour’s goal is to see 92% of patients within 18 weeks by 2029.
- The NHS waiting list dropped by over 500,000 people since Labour took office, down to 7.11 million in July 2024.
- Extra NHS funding of £120 million helped hospitals increase patient appointments and clear waiting lists.
- Some hospitals earned money by removing patients who no longer needed care from waiting lists.
- Other NHS targets, like waiting times for emergency care, cancer treatment, and ambulance responses, were missed.
- NHS performance on waiting times has generally been below 60% for years before this recent improvement.
- Experts warned the NHS may find it hard to keep up this quick pace of reducing waiting times.
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