"Ominous signs" of winter pressures as NHS waiting list grows
NHS winter pressures appear to be building already, with rises in waiting times for planned surgery.
Senior health leaders in England have raised concerns over a growing NHS waiting list and the early signs of winter pressures already affecting the healthcare system. According to data released, the waiting list for routine hospital treatment in England reached 7.37 million treatments as of the end of August, marking the highest level since October 2025.
Despite delivering record levels of planned, elective care during the summer months, with over 4.7 million treatments, the NHS is struggling to meet the government's target of treating 92% of patients within 18 weeks by 2029. NHS England's national medical director, Professor Frankie Swords, warned of the ominous early signs of pressure, citing an increase in patients presenting with flu and other respiratory viruses in A&E departments.
The NHS Alliance and the Health Foundation think-tank both express concerns about the government's ability to achieve the 18-week hospital waiting time target by the end of the parliament in 2029, with progress on cutting waiting times stalling over the past year.
Brief written by urgent.news from BBC News's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
