Question 1

What are NHS waiting times in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?

Accepted Answer

Health is devolved, so each nation publishes its own figures. Public Health Scotland reports waiting times against Scotland's targets, including the 12-week treatment time guarantee and weekly A&E figures. The Welsh Government publishes an NHS activity and performance summary each month with data on StatsWales. Northern Ireland's Department of Health publishes quarterly waiting time statistics for outpatients, inpatients and diagnostics. Targets and counting rules differ, so comparisons between nations need care. See our guide to the devolved health statistics .

Question 2

How long is the NHS waiting list?

Accepted Answer

In England the waiting list figure comes from NHS England's monthly referral to treatment (RTT) statistics. They count incomplete pathways: the number of treatment waits, not people, because one person can be waiting for more than one treatment. NHS England also publishes an estimate of the number of unique patients. The constitutional standard is that 92% of patients should wait under 18 weeks. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland publish their own waiting times on different definitions, so the four lists cannot simply be added together.

Question 3

How many GPs are there in England?

Accepted Answer

NHS England publishes General Practice Workforce statistics monthly. They count GPs both as headcount and as full-time equivalents (FTE), and separate fully qualified GPs from GPs in training and locums. The choice matters: headcount can rise while FTE falls if more GPs work part-time. Claims about "more GPs" should state which measure and whether trainees are included. The same publisher reports appointments in general practice each month.

Question 4

How long are A&E waiting times?

Accepted Answer

NHS England publishes A&E figures monthly. The main measure is the share of patients admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours of arrival. The NHS Constitution standard is 95%; NHS England sets interim targets in its yearly planning guidance. The same release counts 12-hour waits from the decision to admit, and NHS England also publishes 12-hour waits from arrival. Check which one a claim uses, as they differ greatly. Scotland publishes A&E figures weekly through Public Health Scotland.

Question 5

What are ambulance response times in England?

Accepted Answer

NHS England's Ambulance Quality Indicators give monthly average response times for each category of call. Category 1 (life-threatening) has a target mean of 7 minutes; Category 2 (emergencies such as strokes and heart attacks) has a target mean of 18 minutes. Figures are reported for each ambulance service. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland use different categories and targets.

Question 6

How many staff work for the NHS?

Accepted Answer

NHS England publishes NHS Workforce Statistics monthly for staff in hospital and community health services, with headcount and full-time equivalent figures by staff group (doctors, nurses, support staff, managers) and by trust. GPs and practice staff are in separate General Practice statistics. Scotland's NHS workforce figures are published by NHS Education for Scotland, Wales's by StatsWales and Northern Ireland's by the Department of Health. Vacancy figures are published separately.

Question 7

How do I check NHS waiting times for my hospital?

Accepted Answer

In England, the NHS My Planned Care website shows average waits for each hospital and specialty, updated regularly. The full RTT data from NHS England breaks waits down by trust and treatment specialty if you want the official numbers behind it. In Scotland, Public Health Scotland publishes waits by health board; in Wales, waiting times are on StatsWales; in Northern Ireland, the Department of Health publishes them.

Question 8

What are the NHS cancer waiting times?

Accepted Answer

NHS England publishes cancer waiting times monthly against three standards: the 28-day Faster Diagnosis Standard, the 31-day decision-to-treatment standard and the 62-day referral-to-treatment standard. Figures are given for England, each trust and each cancer type. The standards were simplified in October 2023, replacing a longer list of older measures, so long-run comparisons need to use the same standard throughout.

Question 9

Is the NHS waiting list coming down?

Accepted Answer

Compare the RTT total for the same month in different years, or look at the full monthly time series that NHS England publishes. Monthly changes can be small and seasonal, and data from some trusts is sometimes missing and estimated. The length of waits matters as well as the total: the same release counts people waiting over 18, 52, 65 and 78 weeks. A claim that the list is "falling" or "rising" should give the months compared.

NHS and health: your questions answered