Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to assess waiting lists for elective surgery on the basis of average wait times rather than longest possible wait time.

Tackling waiting lists is a key part of our Health Mission and a top priority for the Government. We have committed to achieving the National Health Service’s constitutional standard that 92% of patients should wait no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment by the end of this Parliament. Whilst our focus is on achieving this constitutional standard, it is unacceptable that patients are waiting over a year for care. Therefore, the Government will continue to review and treat the patients who have waited the longest for treatment as well as monitoring progress on the 18-week standard. Tackling the longest waits will be a key part of achieving our commitment.

The Department and NHS England use a range of data metrics to assess elective waiting lists. This is supported by the publication of monthly statistics that include the number of incomplete patient pathways and time spent on the waiting list, as well as average wait times, measured as the median wait time for incomplete patient pathways. This monthly publication is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/rtt-data-2024-25/