The NHS in London is continuing to make progress on seeing patients quicker, with more people now waiting less than 18 weeks for treatment.
New data shows 61.1% of Londoners awaiting treatment are on the waiting list for less than 18 weeks – the highest proportion since November 2023. This demonstrates significant progress towards the NHS and Government’s goal to return to the 92% 18-week standard by March 2029, as set out in the national Plan for Change.
March was the busiest month ever for the number of tests and checks carried out for patients in London, with over 415,000 checks – an extra 94,000 diagnostic tests compared to the same month in 2019, up by nearly 30%.
London NHS teams delivered over 22,000 more treatments in March compared to the same month last year, with 43,000 fewer Londoners waiting longer than 18 weeks for care.
Dr. Chris Streather, Regional Medical Director for the NHS in London, said: “Our new figures show that each month, London NHS staff are not only dealing with an historic backlog, but are also working to deliver treatment to new patients needing our care every day.
“It is important for anyone who has health concerns to come forward and get checked as soon as they can, and this March we saw a particularly sharp rise in referrals. Yet, London NHS teams still managed to deliver 22,000 more treatments for patients than this time last year.”
Thanks to the efforts of NHS staff in London, the 28-day cancer target in March continues to be met with almost 43,000 given the all-clear or a definitive cancer diagnosis within four weeks – over 2,400 more compared to the same month last year (6% increase).
The monthly performance statistics also show urgent and emergency care services continued to be under pressure last month, with more A&E attendances than any other April since 2019. Despite over 403,000 attendances in London, four-hour performance was the highest for any April in the last four years.
Ambulance services also saw significant improvements in performance despite more pressure on staff for this time of year – over 115,000 incidents in London – with Category 1* responses at their fastest since April 2022 at 6:42, against an overall target of 7 minutes.
