The English NHS broke new records again in March, with the number of patients on the waiting list over 18, 26, 39 and 52 weeks all hitting new record lows, and with all three 18-week targets met.

Although the pace of improvement for the very longest-waiters has slowed, the number of over-18-week waiters is down a massive 100,000 year-on-year to just 160,052.

One-year-waiters fell to 5,141 (from 5,696 the previous month, and 14,355 a year before), and remain concentrated in London where 2,106 patients are still waiting over a year after referral (and that omits Imperial who are still on a reporting holiday).

You can download our Gooroo NHS waiting times fact checker

England-wide picture

The NHS continues to show remarkable consistency in both the number of patients being admitted, and the size of the waiting list.

Admissions in England

Admissions in England

Waiting list size in England

Waiting list size in England

Records were broken for all measures of long-waiters still on the waiting list, with the number of over-18-week waiters falling by one-third since last July.

Long-waiters still waiting

Long-waiters still waiting

The new and much better “92% of incomplete pathways within 18 weeks” target was activated on the 1st April, and the NHS has risen to the occasion with an early, convincing and sustained achievement of the new target.

92% incomplete pathways in England

92% incomplete pathways in England

All specialties improved, although neurosurgery is still the most-pressured specialty.

92% incomplete pathways by specialty

92% incomplete pathways by specialty

The new target must be met in every NHS organisation, in every specialty, and that is going to take a little longer. March saw the highest ever proportion of Trust-specialties achieving the new target, beating by a percentage point the previous record set at the time of the last General Election.

Trust-specialties with 92% of waiting list below 18 weeks

Trust-specialties with 92% of waiting list below 18 weeks

 

Trust top twenty

The twenty Trusts with the greatest waiting times pressures (omitting Imperial who did not submit data) are:

Trust 92% of waiting list is within Position in March Change Position in February Over-one-year waiters on list
The Robert Jones & Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS FT 35.8 weeks # 1 up 1 from # 2 49
Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust 32.4 weeks # 2 down 1 from # 1 43
Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 25.0 weeks # 3 up 2 from # 5 192
James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 24.9 weeks # 4 up 26 from # 30 0
North Bristol NHS Trust 24.8 weeks # 5 up 11 from # 16 191
St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust 24.7 weeks # 6 up 2 from # 8 298
Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust 24.6 weeks # 7 down 4 from # 3 0
Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust 24.4 weeks # 8 up 5 from # 13 15
Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust 23.7 weeks # 9 down 5 from # 4 413
Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust 22.6 weeks # 10 down 3 from # 7 75
Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust 22.6 weeks # 11 up 1 from # 12 3
University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 22.5 weeks # 12 up 9 from # 21 284
Croydon Health Services NHS Trust 22.5 weeks # 13 down 7 from # 6 2
Barts and The London NHS Trust 22.3 weeks # 14 up 4 from # 18 154
King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 21.2 weeks # 15 down 4 from # 11 205
Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 20.8 weeks # 16 up 9 from # 25 8
Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 20.8 weeks # 17 down 3 from # 14 0
North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust 20.7 weeks # 18 up 32 from # 50 107
Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust 20.5 weeks # 19 down 4 from # 15 0
University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust 20.3 weeks # 20 up 4 from # 24 104

 

Congratulations to Bolton NHS Foundation Trust for dropping off the table from 9th to 69th position, with a reduction in 92nd centile incomplete pathways waits from 23.7 to 17.0 weeks; and to Royal United Hospital Bath NHS Trust who fell from 10th to 48th place with a reduction from 23.0 to 17.8 weeks.

The next 18-weeks statistics release from the Department of Health is expected at 9:30am on Thursday 21 June 2012.