"The latest figures mark a disappointing pause in what had been six months of steady progress in reducing NHS waiting lists."
- Emily Jones - Broadstone
Today’s NHS England waiting list data for referral to treatment shows that the waiting list rose for the first time in six months in April 2026, ticking up from 7.22 million from March’s four-year low of 7.11 million.
This has broken the downturn in waiting list levels held since October 2025, when it stood at 7.40 million.
However, over the past year, the waiting list has dropped by 170,834 from 7.39 million in April 2025 to 7.22 million in the latest period.
The latest data marks an increase of 2.81 million since pre-pandemic levels, with waiting lists in April 2019 standing at 4.41 million.
Meanwhile, cancer waiting lists have also seen a downturn in performance over the last month, with provisional estimates for the four-week wait from urgent referral to confirmed outcome standing at 75.9% in April 2026, below the operational standard of 80%.
This marks the lowest performance level since September 2025, when it stood at 73.8%.
The news comes after a recent analysis of the Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN) and NHS England data from Broadstone reported a fifth consecutive year of growth for PMI-funded admissions, while NHS waiting lists for the first three months of the year fell to the lowest levels since August 2022.
"The latest figures mark a disappointing pause in what had been six months of steady progress in reducing NHS waiting lists and stand as a reminder that reducing the NHS backlog will not be a straightforward process for the new health secretary," Emily Jones, head of workplace wellbeing at Broadstone, said.
"The deterioration in cancer waiting time performance is particularly concerning," Emily continued. "Timely diagnosis and treatment are critical to improving outcomes, as long waits can lead to conditions worsening, prolonged periods of sickness absence and make it harder for people to return to work.
"It is therefore no surprise that demand for private healthcare continues to grow. More than two-thirds of a million Brits turned to private healthcare last year, while employers are increasingly investing in benefits such as private medical insurance, private GP services, health cash plans and health screening. Preventative care enables serious conditions like cancer to be identified early on, improving health outcomes and reducing the risk of short-term issues becoming long-term barriers to work.
"Recent NHS initiatives to expand support for high-volume conditions like MSK are welcome, but there is no quick solution to a backlog that remains substantially higher than pre-pandemic levels. As highlighted by the Keep Britain Working Review, improving workforce health will require a coordinated effort between government, healthcare providers and employers to ensure more people can access the support they need and stay economically active."
Karen Woodley, head of healthcare distribution at The Exeter, added: "After a period of falling waiting times, a rise in the latest figures shows the scale of the challenge the NHS faces. Our own data found that 49% of people expect waiting times to increase, and for the 7.22 million patients still waiting for care, the picture is made more complicated by another junior doctors' strike due to begin next week.
"There are reasons for optimism given the ground gained earlier this year, but for many patients, the reality is still a long and uncertain wait.
"The fact that demand for private healthcare continues to grow even as waiting times fall speaks to how people now view it, not as an alternative to the NHS but as a permanent part of how they manage their health. With the sector on course to approach one million PMI-funded treatments annually, it is clear that for many, having that cover in place is about reducing the pressure of an open-ended wait and supporting a faster road to recovery, whatever the figures are doing."
Dr David Griffiths, chief medical officer (CMO) at Teladoc Health UK, commented: "The overall waiting list is growing, and for patients, that means more time without the support they need. According to the King's Fund, 66% of people on an NHS waiting list don't know when to expect their appointment or treatment, which is particularly difficult for both patient and doctor, when symptoms are often worsening.
"If patients can’t access the care they need, and their symptoms are worsening, employers are also affected. The good news is that they do have options: giving staff access to virtual clinical care helps them manage their condition earlier, stay in work, and avoid reaching a point where recovery takes far longer than it would have done."
