NHS England · 9 June 2017 – 13 December 2019

NHS waiting list within 18 weeks during the Conservative 2017–2019 government

May 2017 → November 2019 · 30 periods

↓ 6.8%−6.2% % of incomplete pathways

NHS waiting list within 18 weeks fell by 6.8% over the period, from 90.3% % of incomplete pathways (May 2017, the level when the government took office) to 84.1% (November 2019, the last complete period before it left office).

Inherited level May 2017: 90.3%
Level when it left November 2019: 84.1%
method: latest complete period before start / before end

Changes during this period do not by themselves show what the government caused. Statistics reflect many influences, including earlier decisions, the economy and how the data is collected.

Published valueProvisional or revisedLatestDashed line: change in coverage or methodShaded bands: governments (see labels)Hover or use arrow keys to read a value

Definition and caveats

The share of incomplete consultant-led referral-to-treatment pathways in England that had been waiting 18 weeks or less at the end of the month, including NHS England's estimates for missing trusts. The published file stores a proportion; it is shown here as a percentage. The NHS constitutional standard is 92 per cent.

Doesn’t measure: How long treated patients actually waited — that is a different (completed-pathway) measure — or anything about the four-hour A&E standard, which is separate.