NHS England’s March 2026 Integrated Performance Report shows the total elective waiting list fell to 7.25 million in January 2026. 

The report also shows year-on-year improvement in 18-week Referral to Treatment performance and a continued reduction in waits over 52 weeks, while noting that Referral to Treatment remains the main elective performance priority for 2025/26 and 2026/27. 

Key Developments 

NHS England reported that the total elective waiting list, including estimates, stood at 7,247,214 in January 2026. This was down from 7,290,880 in December 2025, a reduction of 43,666 patients, or 0.6% month on month.  

Compared with January 2025, when the total elective waiting list stood at 7,427,669, the January 2026 position represented a reduction of 180,455 patients, or 2.4% year on year.  

The under-18 elective waiting list also reduced year on year. NHS England reported 740,420 under-18 patients on the elective waiting list for the week ending 22 February 2026, compared with 771,515 for the week ending 23 February 2025. This represented a reduction of 31,095 patients, or 4.0% year on year.  

Referral to Treatment performance also improved compared with the previous year. In January 2026, 61.5% of elective patients were waiting less than 18 weeks for treatment. This was unchanged from December 2025, but up from 58.9% in January 2025, an improvement of 2.6 percentage points year on year.  

NHS England reported that the proportion of elective patients waiting over 52 weeks was 1.87% in January 2026, equivalent to 135,657 patients. This was down from 1.93% in December 2025 and 2.68% in January 2025.  

The report states that Referral to Treatment is the main elective performance priority for 2025/26 and 2026/27, as set out in the Medium Term Planning Framework. NHS England identified actions including validation incentivisation, enhanced national and regional oversight through tiering, and a Q4 performance sprint on additional elective activity, supported by Getting It Right First Time where required.  

Why It Matters

The January 2026 figures show continued movement in the headline elective waiting list, with reductions month on month and year on year. The under-18 waiting list and 52-week waits also show year-on-year improvement.  

The report also shows that 18-week Referral to Treatment performance remained at 61.5% in January 2026. NHS England states that it is taking action to accelerate RTT performance improvement to deliver the 2025/26 requirement of 65%.  

Provider variation remains a relevant feature of the elective position. The report shows 18-week RTT performance across acute providers ranging from 97.5% to 48.9% in January 2026. The proportion of patients waiting over 52 weeks also varied across acute providers, from 0.0% to 7.7%.  

The elective data therefore indicates improvement in several access measures, while also showing that delivery remains uneven across providers and that further improvement is required to meet the stated RTT requirement. 

Source References

NHS England, Integrated Performance Report, March 2026. 
NHS England, Meeting of the Board of NHS England – agenda, 26 March 2026.