"Today's increase is a reminder of how difficult it is to bring down the backlog while demand continues to outstrip capacity across the health service."
- Dawn Prescott - The Exeter
The latest data from NHS England has revealed that the overall waiting list increased by 60,153 from April to May of this year, totalling 7.28 million. Meanwhile, average daily A&E attendances reached 81,264 in June 2026, exceeding 80,000 for the first time.
This comes after waiting list levels rose for the first time in six months in April, ticking up to 7.22 million following March’s four-year low of 7.11 million.
The number of people waiting less than 18 weeks for planned care rose to 65.6% in May, compared to 65% in April.
Meanwhile, an average of 3.000 people ended up receiving care in emergency department corridors or elsewhere in hospitals on a daily basis.
"Today's increase is a reminder of how difficult it is to bring down the backlog while demand continues to outstrip capacity across the health service," Dawn Prescott, head of healthcare proposition at The Exeter, said.
"The government’s progress in reducing the longest waits is encouraging, but rebuilding public confidence remains a challenge. According to our latest Health & Finance Tracker, a third of UK adults are still unsure whether the NHS could fully meet their needs if they became ill.
"Given this uncertainty, it is little surprise that demand for private healthcare continues to grow, with the sector on course to approach one million privately funded treatments a year. But this isn't about one system replacing the other. Private and public are increasingly working side by side to give people more choice and quicker access to the care they need."
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Sarah Taylor, director of corporate proposition at Healix Health, added: "The increase in NHS waiting times won’t come as a shock to those already navigating the system, but the impact behind these figures cannot be ignored.
"When people are left waiting for care, symptoms can worsen, day-to-day life becomes harder, and work is often affected too. NHS waiting times are not just a health issue; they are increasingly a workforce issue.
"This is particularly concerning for younger employees, with our Hidden Workplace Healthcare Gap report finding that nearly a third (30%) of 18-24-year-old workers said their health worsened while waiting for care in the past year, and more than a third (36%) had taken additional time off as a result.
"With Sir Charlie Mayfield framing workplace health as one of the UK’s biggest growth opportunities for the next Prime Minister, these figures underline why access to timely care must remain central to the debate around workplace sickness, youth employment and the wider economy."
