Surgeons: Modernising NHS infrastructure "essential" to bring down waiting times

The latest NHS consultant-led Referral to Treatment (RTT) waiting times data for May 2026 show that 65.6% of patients started treatment within 18 weeks, while the overall waiting list increased to 7.3 million. In 104,734 cases, patients had been waiting more than 52 weeks for treatment. 

The figures come as the Government publishes its 10 Year Capital Plan, setting out how funding announced in last year's Spending Review will be used to modernise NHS buildings, equipment and technology. 

However, with the NHS maintenance backlog alone now standing at £15.9 billion, the scale of investment still required to modernise NHS buildings and tackle overdue repairs remains substantial. 

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

“While there has been progress in reducing the longest waits overall, too many patients are still waiting longer than the NHS's 18-week standard for the surgery they need. 

“Modernising NHS infrastructure is essential to bring down waiting times. The Government is right to recognise that years of underinvestment has left too many NHS buildings and facilities no longer fit for purpose. A long-term approach is sensible, but hospitals cannot wait much longer for the modern theatres, equipment and technology that allow surgeons and their teams to treat more patients sooner.” 

ENDS 

Notes to editors 

1. 10 Year Capital Plan to rebuild NHS and bring care closer to home - GOV.UK
2. Surgeons respond to Government’s 10 Year Capital Plan to ‘rebuild the NHS’ — Royal College of Surgeons 
3. The Spending Review 2025 announced a £2.3 billion real-terms increase (£4 billion cash increase) in the Department of Health and Social Care's annual capital budget between 2023/24 and 2029/30 to support investment in the NHS, including new technology, hospitals and primary care. The government said this would deliver "the largest ever health capital budget", representing a more than 20% real-terms increase by the end of the Spending Review period. This funding settlement underpins the capital plan's projection that NHS capital spending will rise to £14.6 billion (around £15 billion) a year by 2029/30. See more: Spending Review 2025 (HTML) - GOV.UK 
4. The NHS maintenance backlog is now estimated at £15.9bn: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/estates-returns-information-collection/summary-page-and-dataset-for-eric-2024-25  
5. Latest NHS England RTT data is available at: Statistics » Referral to Treatment (RTT) Waiting Times  
6. Latest data on the UK surgical workforce: UK Surgical Workforce Census — Royal College of Surgeons   
7. 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.   
8. For more information, please contact the press office: telephone: 020 7869 6053/6054/6060; email: pressoffice@rcseng.ac.uk; out-of-hours media enquiries: 0207 869 6056.