Summary of NHS demand, performance, backlogs, and capacity of services in England. It covers A&E waiting times, hospital waiting lists, cancer waiting times, ambulance response times, staffing levels including doctors and nurses, vacancies, and more.
NHS key statistics: England (578 KB , PDF)
Before 2020, the NHS in England experienced increasing demand and declining performance on its main waiting time measures.
Many of these pressures have increased following the Covid-19 pandemic.
The waiting list for hospital treatment rose to a record of 7.7 million in September 2023, but has since fallen to around 7.4 million in March 2025. The 18-week treatment target has not been met since 2016.
Source: NHS England, Consultant-Led Referral to Treatment Waiting Times
The number of people going to A&E was slightly above pre-pandemic levels in winter 2024/25. The proportion of patients spending more than 4 hours in hospital A&E grew substantially between 2015 and 2020. A new record high of 50.4% was reached in December 2022. In April 2025, 39.8% of patients waited over 4 hours in hospital A&E.
The number of patients waiting over 12 hours for admission after a decision to admit has increased substantially since the middle of 2021.
Source: NHS England, Accident and Emergency Attendances and Emergency Admissions
The 62-day waiting time standard for cancer has not been met in recent years. Targets have recently changed – see section 3 of the full PDF briefing for details. Previously, the standard measured only waits after GP referral, but now other routes are included, covering around 43% more patients. The 85% target remains the same. In March 2025, on the new standard, 71.4% of patients were treated within 62 days of referral.
Source: NHS England, Cancer Waiting Times
NHS staff numbers have increased, with doctor numbers up 26% and nurses up 25% over the five years to February 2025. The NHS vacancy rate was 6.7% in March 2025, down from 6.9% in March 2024.
These workforce figures do not adjust for changes in demand or activity.
Source: NHS Digital, NHS Workforce Statistics
Ambulance response times have risen, with the average response to a Category 2 call (for e.g. suspected heart attacks and strokes) at over 1 hour 30 minutes in December 2022 compared with a target of 18 minutes. Performance has subsequently improved but remains outside the target.
Source: NHS England, Ambulance Quality Indicators
For information on NHS funding and mental health services, please see our separate briefings:
Health is a devolved policy area and these statistics relate to the NHS in England only. Links to statistics for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland can be found below.
NHS key statistics: England (578 KB , PDF)
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