Wes Streeting on the NHS waiting list, 14 April 2026

The statement

We inherited from the Conservatives an NHS facing the worst crisis in its history, with waiting lists at a record 7.6 million and public satisfaction at record lows.

Wes Streeting, 14 April 2026. Source

What the sources report

• NHS England, Referral to treatment waiting times, overview time series (August 2026 file, incomplete pathways) reports referral to treatment waiting list, England, incomplete pathways, with estimates for missing trusts (September 2023, highest in the series): 7768573pathways^src
• NHS England, Referral to treatment waiting times, overview time series (August 2026 file, incomplete pathways) reports referral to treatment waiting list, England, incomplete pathways (June 2024): 7621297pathways^src
• NHS England, Referral to treatment waiting times, overview time series (August 2026 file, incomplete pathways) reports referral to treatment waiting list, England, incomplete pathways (July 2024): 7623081pathways^src
• NHS England, Referral to treatment waiting times, overview time series (August 2026 file, incomplete pathways) reports referral to treatment waiting list, England, incomplete pathways, with estimates for missing trusts (August 2026, latest): 7370100pathways^src

Notes

NHS England reports 7,621,297 incomplete pathways in June 2024 and 7,623,081 in July 2024, the months around the general election.

The highest figure in the series is 7,768,573 (with estimates for missing trusts) in September 2023.

The latest month is August 2026, at 7,370,100 with estimates for missing trusts.

Public satisfaction, also in the statement, is not an official statistic and has no figure here.