New data released by the NHS reveals that the number of patients waiting for appointments or procedures has reached an all-time high of 7.3 million, with the

government failing to meet its target to eliminate 18-month waits by April this year.

Although the number of patients waiting over 18 months has fallen by over 90% since September 2021, nearly 80% of NHS providers have yet to completely eliminate wait times of 18 months. Moreover, only 75% of patients are seen within four hours of presenting to A&E, significantly below the target of 95% set out in the NHS Constitution Handbook.

However, there has been some improvement in ambulance response times, which peaked at 92.9 minutes in December and have now fallen to 28.5 minutes for a category 2 call.

While the government has hailed the fall in 18-month wait times as “huge progress,” both they and NHS officials acknowledge that there is still much work to be done to improve healthcare provision in the UK.