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An analysis by the BBC reveals that nearly 25% of hospitals in England have experienced worsening waiting times since the government announced its plan to reduce the backlog a year ago. Meeting the 18-week target for procedures like knee and hip surgeries was a major commitment in Labour’s health manifesto last year. Despite national progress, 31 hospital trusts have seen their performance decline, and an additional 17 have shown minimal improvement out of 129 trusts assessed.
Among those hospitals struggling, officials have attributed the delays to a mix of challenges, including staff shortages, industrial action by doctors, and difficulties with IT systems. Patients like Mary Waterhouse, 72, from Blackpool, illustrate the human toll of these setbacks. Mary, who suffers from arthritis and has been under treatment at Blackpool Hospitals NHS Trust since 2022, endured an eight-month wait for assessment after her condition worsened in late 2024. Ultimately, she was advised to have hip and knee replacements on both sides but chose to forego surgery due to the severity of her condition and extensive wait times. “It’s like being in a never-ending queue,” she said, explaining that she now depends on a mobility scooter and crutches for mobility.
While the national 18-week waiting time target—meaning 92% of patients should receive treatment within 18 weeks—has not been met since 2015, the government aims to restore it by March 2029. So far, progress has been modest; the proportion of patients seen within 18 weeks has improved from 59.2% last January to 61.8%, with the overall waiting list shrinking to 7.31 million, its lowest since February 2023. However, there is considerable variability among trusts. For instance, East Cheshire recorded the greatest decline, dropping from 61.2% to 51.2% of patients treated within 18 weeks. Barnsley, Whittington Health, and Epsom and St Helier also showed notable decreases, with trusts pointing to factors such as new electronic patient record systems disrupting services, increased cancer referrals taking priority, staff shortages, and doctor strike actions.
Outside England, hospital treatment targets are also routinely missed across the UK. Rory Deighton of the NHS Confederation highlighted that the NHS consists of many individual organizations facing unique challenges, and that areas with entrenched issues, such as high local deprivation, may find backlog reduction especially difficult. Chris McCann, deputy chief executive of Healthwatch England, emphasized the “stark differences” patients face based on their location and urged close oversight of trusts whose performance is deteriorating. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson reaffirmed that while the NHS is on a “road to recovery,” further investment in initiatives like surgical hubs and expanded scanning services remains essential, and hospitals will be held accountable for delivering improvements
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