Surgeons: Sluggish progress on reducing NHS waits puts government targets at risk

The NHS waiting list for routine hospital treatment in England has risen, with 7.42 million patient pathways recorded at the end of March 2025, an increase of 18,751 from February 2025.

While the direction of travel had been positive in recent months, the increase in March raises questions about whether the government can realistically meet its interim target of 65% of patients starting treatment within 18 weeks by March 2026.  

Only 59.8% of patients began treatment within 18 weeks in March 2025. In addition, 180,242 patient pathways were still waiting over 52 weeks for treatment.

Commenting on the figures, Vice President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England), Professor Frank Smith, said:

“NHS staff are working tirelessly to get patients seen more quickly. We can’t get away from the fact that the pace of progress remains sluggish. This calls into question whether government targets will be met.

"Our members frequently tell us they could be doing more surgeries if they had enough operating theatres, or if existing facilities weren’t out of commission due to disrepair. Without better access to operating theatres for surgical teams, the NHS will fail to make the productivity gains needed to meet targets and patients will continue to endure unacceptably long waits.

“If this government is serious about delivering on its waiting time pledges, it must be realistic and find further capital funding to repair crumbling NHS estates and expand capacity.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

1. NHS England’s latest consultant-led referral-to-treatment waiting times data is available here:  https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/rtt-data-2024-25/ The total waiting list stood at 7,420,899 in March 2025.

1. The Royal College of Surgeons of England provides world-class education, assessment, and development to 30,000 surgeons, dental professionals, and members of the wider surgical and dental care teams at all stages of their careers. Our vision is to see excellent surgical care for everyone. We do this by setting professional standards, facilitating research, and championing the best outcomes for patients.

1. For more information, please contact the press office: telephone: 020 7869 6053/6054/6047; email: pressoffice@rcseng.ac.uk; out-of-hours media enquiries: 0207 869 6056.