England's NHS Hits 18-Week Treatment Target for First Time in Years
Hospitals in England have met a key patient waiting time goal, with over 65% of patients treated within 18 weeks — but experts urge caution over long-term sustainability.
NHS Reaches Major Milestone on Patient Waiting Times
Hospitals across England have achieved a significant benchmark in reducing patient waiting times, meeting a target that had eluded the health service for years. The milestone prompted outgoing Health Secretary Wes Streeting to declare that Labour's strategy for reforming the NHS is delivering results — even as health policy experts raised questions about how the goal was ultimately reached.
The 65% Target: What It Means
Streeting had set a clear directive for NHS hospitals: ensure that at least 65% of patients on the waiting list receive treatment within 18 weeks — and do so by the end of March. According to new figures released by NHS England on Thursday, that goal was met. In March, 65.3% of patients on the NHS waiting list were seen within the 18-week referral-to-treatment (RTT) window.
This particular metric holds special weight for the NHS and the current government. Labour has repeatedly pledged to restore the RTT standard to its intended level — where 92% of patients are treated within 18 weeks — by the year 2029. Hitting the 65% interim milestone is seen as a necessary stepping stone toward that longer-term commitment.
March marked the first time since November 2021 that the NHS had exceeded the 65% threshold. Sir Jim Mackey, Chief Executive of NHS England, called it "a huge moment for the NHS."
Streeting Hails 'Biggest Monthly Cut in 17 Years'
Speaking before his departure from the role of Health Secretary, Streeting was emphatic in his praise. He described the result as "the biggest cut in waiting lists in a single month in 17 years" and stated that the NHS is "right on track to deliver the fastest reduction in waiting times in the history of the NHS."
He credited a combination of government investment, modernisation efforts, and the dedication of NHS staff for the progress made.
Sarah Woolnough, Chief Executive of The King's Fund, echoed the positive sentiment, calling it "a significant achievement" and noting that it translates into real relief for patients and families who have endured lengthy waits and the stress that comes with them.
Waiting List Shrinks by More Than Half a Million
Beyond the RTT percentage, the broader waiting list data also offered encouraging signs. Since Labour came to power in July 2024, the total number of people waiting for tests, treatments, and surgical procedures has fallen from 7.62 million to 7.11 million — a reduction of approximately 517,000 patients. This marks five consecutive months of decline in the overall waiting list.
Questions Over How the Target Was Met
Despite the celebratory headlines, health analysts have raised important questions about the methods used to achieve this milestone. NHS England reportedly allocated £120 million in additional funding from January onward to help hospitals execute a focused "sprint" aimed at hitting the target before the March deadline.
Hospitals used this funding in two key ways: by seeing more patients and by conducting so-called "validation sprint" exercises — a process of reviewing and cleaning waiting lists to remove unnecessary, duplicate, or inactive entries. Financial incentives were offered to NHS trusts that participated. For instance, Shrewsbury and Telford Trust removed more than 14,000 patients from its waiting list after being offered £33 per removal, earning over £460,000 in the process.
Critics, including Conservative politicians, have labelled this approach "fiddling the figures," arguing that list cleaning artificially inflates progress rather than reflecting genuine improvements in treatment capacity.
Bea Taylor, a fellow at the Nuffield Trust, pointed out a striking pattern in the data: "It's remarkable that 70% of the progress towards this target since April 2025 happened during the final two months leading up to the deadline." This concentration of improvement in the run-up to the deadline has fuelled scepticism about how organic the gains truly were.
Other NHS Targets Still Being Missed
The positive RTT news was tempered by the fact that the NHS failed to meet several other key performance benchmarks by the end of the 2025–26 financial year. Waiting times in A&E departments, cancer treatment pathways, and ambulance response times all fell short of their respective targets. Streeting acknowledged the uneven progress, remarking simply: "Lots done, lots to do."
Can the NHS Sustain This Pace?
Perhaps the most pressing concern raised by experts is whether the NHS can maintain the momentum needed to reach the 92% RTT target by 2029. Both Taylor and Woolnough cautioned that the rapid progress seen in recent months is unlikely to be replicable at a consistent pace going forward.
Demand for NHS services remains intense and unrelenting. As Taylor put it, "Huge waves of patients are flowing on to waiting lists each month, making it difficult for the NHS to work fast enough to keep up."
While the March figures represent genuine progress, the road to meeting the government's 2029 ambition remains long — and the challenges ahead are substantial.
