Daily Junction.mobi portalNews · July 10, 2026 · Daily Junction Editorial Team · 7 min
NHS waiting lists hit 7.6 million in 2024 — here's why waits are so long, what the government is doing, and how to get treatment faster.
The NHS is in crisis. 7.6 million people are waiting for hospital treatment (June 2024), up from 4.4 million before the pandemic (February 2020). 300,000+ people have been waiting over 1 year, and some have been waiting over 2 years. A&E departments are overwhelmed, with 30,000+ people per month waiting over 12 hours on trolleys. GP appointments are impossible to get, with patients waiting weeks for a 10-minute phone call. The NHS is understaffed, underfunded, and collapsing under the weight of an ageing population, chronic underfunding, and the pandemic backlog. Here is everything you need to know about the NHS waiting times crisis — why it is happening, what the government is doing, and how to get treatment faster.
7.6 million people are waiting for NHS hospital treatment in England (June 2024), up from 4.4 million in February 2020 (pre-pandemic).
This includes:
300,000+ people have been waiting over 1 year (the NHS target is 18 weeks).
Waiting times by specialty (median wait, June 2024):
The NHS target is 92% of patients treated within 18 weeks of GP referral. But only 60% are meeting this target (June 2024), the worst performance on record.
Before the pandemic (February 2020), 84% of patients were treated within 18 weeks. The target has not been met since 2016.
A&E departments are overwhelmed:
The 4-hour target has not been met since 2015.
Ambulance response times have soared:
Patients are dying while waiting for ambulances.
GP appointments are impossible to get:
The number of GPs has fallen by 2,000 since 2015, despite the population growing by 3 million.
Cancer patients are waiting longer for diagnosis and treatment:
Delays in cancer treatment reduce survival rates.
The NHS cancelled millions of elective surgeries during the pandemic (2020–2021) to focus on COVID-19 patients. This created a backlog that has not been cleared.
The backlog is growing because:
The NHS has 110,000 staff vacancies (8% of the workforce), including:
Staff shortages are caused by:
The NHS is recruiting staff from abroad (India, Philippines, Nigeria), but this is controversial (it drains developing countries of healthcare workers) and slow.
NHS funding has grown by 1.5% per year (real terms) since 2010, far below the 4% per year needed to keep up with demand (ageing population, new treatments, rising costs).
The NHS budget is £165 billion per year (2024–25), but experts say it needs £200 billion to clear backlogs and meet demand.
The UK population is ageing — 20% of people are over 65 (up from 15% in 2000), and older people need more healthcare (hip replacements, cancer treatment, chronic disease management).
The NHS was designed for a younger population and is struggling to cope.
Social care (care for elderly and disabled people in their homes or care homes) is in crisis, with 150,000 people stuck in hospital because there is no social care available to discharge them to.
This blocks hospital beds, causing A&E waits and cancelled surgeries.
Social care is underfunded (£25 billion per year vs £165 billion for the NHS) and understaffed (165,000 vacancies).
The NHS is inefficient:
The Labour government (elected July 2024) has pledged to:
But experts say this is not enough. The NHS needs:
Without this, waiting lists will continue to grow.
You have the right to be referred to any hospital in England (not just your local one). Some hospitals have shorter waits than others.
Check waiting times at nhs.uk/service-search and ask your GP to refer you to a hospital with shorter waits.
Ask to be put on the cancellation list — you may get an earlier appointment if someone cancels. You must be available at short notice (24–48 hours).
Consider going private for diagnostics (MRI scans, CT scans, blood tests) then returning to the NHS for treatment. This can speed up diagnosis and get you on the NHS waiting list sooner.
Private diagnostics cost £200–£500 (MRI scan £400, CT scan £300, blood tests £100).
If you have waited over 18 weeks, complain to the hospital and your MP. The NHS is supposed to treat 92% of patients within 18 weeks, and you have the right to complain if this is not met.
Private treatment costs £3,000–£10,000 for most procedures:
Private health insurance costs £1,000–£3,000 per year, but it does not cover pre-existing conditions.
Most people cannot afford private, and the NHS is supposed to be free at the point of use. But if you can afford it, private treatment is faster (weeks vs months/years).
The NHS is at a crossroads. Without major reform and investment, it will collapse. The options are:
Increase NHS funding to £200 billion per year (from £165 billion) to clear backlogs and meet demand. This requires higher taxes or cuts to other spending.
Reform the NHS to be less hospital-centric and more focused on community care (GPs, pharmacies, home care). This is cheaper and more effective for most conditions.
Fix the social care crisis by increasing funding to £40 billion per year (from £25 billion) and recruiting 165,000 more care workers. This would free up hospital beds and reduce A&E waits.
Introduce charges for some NHS services (e.g., GP appointments £10, A&E visits £20) to reduce demand and raise revenue. This is controversial and opposed by most people.
Increase private sector involvement in the NHS (private hospitals, private GPs). This is controversial and opposed by most people, who see the NHS as a public service that should be free at the point of use.
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