NHS performance data published today confirms waiting times in the east of England and across the country are continuing to fall at pace – with the NHS hitting its target of 65% of patients waiting no more than 18 weeks for treatment after their referral.

The overall waiting list in the east of England, as of the end of March 2026, was down to approximately 895,000 – a drop of 6,323 from the previous month and down from around 947,000 a year ago (a reduction of close to 52,000).

This achievement comes despite NHS trusts facing three rounds of industrial action over the last year, with NHS analysis showing strikes in 2025/26 led to the loss of an estimated 171,776 appointments and procedures across the country.

It also came against a backdrop of the NHS experiencing its busiest winter on record, with relentless pressure on frontline services, record demand in A&E, persistently high ambulance callouts and unprecedented numbers of GP appointments over the past year.

As of the end of March 2026, 61.3% of patients in the east of England had been waiting within 18 weeks – significantly up from 55.1% a year earlier.

Whilst local trusts experienced a mix of success and challenge, each area of the region has seen trusts greatly reduce overall waiting times despite record high numbers of patients and the impact of seasonal viruses.

Adam Cayley, regional chief operating officer for NHS England – East of England, said:

“Our fantastic staff across the NHS continue to make the most of innovative techniques and tools to help bring down waits and provide the personalised support and care that people really value.

“With such high demand there’s no single solution to cutting waiting times. While there is still more to do, trusts across the region have found many ways to approach these challenges – through resourcing, scheduling and operational practices that have increased efficiencies and reduced waiting times, without losing the compassionate care that we pride ourselves on.”

One of the trusts amongst the highest performers in the east of England against the 18-week electives target was East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust, surpassing 69%.

The Trust puts this down in part to its improvement method – the ENH Production System – which has a focus on rigorous daily management. The method sees teams work together to review areas where there is known waste and frustration for patients to suggest ideas to improve.

Adam Sewell-Jones, chief executive at East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust, said:

“We know the impact on our patients when waiting for treatment – and we are doing all we can to see our patients more quickly.

“Our teams are looking at all areas of our processes to reduce waste and bureaucracy, with more people being seen within the target of 18 weeks.

“We know there is still more to do – and will continue to improve.”

Meanwhile, the east of England’s heart and lung specialist NHS trust, Royal Papworth Hospital has achieved a standout proportion of 78.8% of patients being seen within 18 weeks.

This achievement has been delivered through enhancing a range of processes across their services, including providing extra clinic times and performing weekend procedures to expand capacity and reduce waiting times for patients.

The Trust continues to introduce and embed the use of new clinical technology and patient supporting tools including AI powered analytical software that is able to record the sleeping patterns of patients at home, reducing the need for patients to visit the hospital for readings.

Other measures include ensuring timely treatment through validated record keeping and tracking care progress through follow up meetings.

As a specialist hospital, Royal Papworth also works closely in partnership with other hospitals and GPs across the region to make patient referrals smoother and quicker, where possible.

Harvey McEnroe, chief operating officer at Royal Papworth Hospital said:

“This progress is something everyone across our Trust can be truly proud of. It reflects the commitment, compassion and teamwork our staff bring every single day.

“We’ve run extra clinics, carried out additional weekend procedures, introduced new technology and changed the way we work – all to make things better for the people in our communities who are waiting for our care.

“We understand how difficult it can be for people to live well while they wait, and we’re committed to continue doing even more to reduce our waiting times, particularly for our patients who have been waiting the longest.”

At West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, the Trust hit 66% against the 18-week elective target, improving its Referral To Treatment process (RTT) over the past year by making subtle adjustments to several operational areas.

Improving the proportion of patients receiving diagnostic tests within 6 weeks from around 40% to 86% has made a real difference to patients, as has making the most of digital applications including the Trust’s patient portal and patient validation which is helping to provide clear, timely communication with patients.

Between August 2025 and March 2026, the Trust reduced the number of patients waiting over 18 weeks by more than 2,000.

Nicola Cottington, chief operating officer and deputy chief executive officer at West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, said:

“We’ve made enormous progress in cutting down our waiting lists. There are now 6,000 fewer people waiting for an operation or procedure than the same time last year, and we’re also achieving a much quicker turnaround for diagnostic test results.

“Over the last year we’ve gone from 40% to 86% of people getting their test within 6 weeks.

“Our improvements have come from asking colleagues across the Trust to look at how we can improve each part of the patient journey. This has led to practical changes, such as how we use our time and resources efficiently, through to running extra clinics on weekends.

“Too many people are still waiting longer than we want, and we know the physical and mental toll this can have. But we’re making significant progress in reducing waits for both emergency and planned treatments.”

The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust has seen some of the largest improvements in the region – going from a proportion of 46.2% of patients being treated within 18 weeks at the end of March 2025, up to 64.1% by March 2026; an increase of nearly 18% over the year.

Anna Jebb, chief operating officer at The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust (PAHT), said:

“We are really proud of the significant reductions we have seen in our waiting lists for treatment over the last few months. Since November we have seen an 8% improvement in our referral to treatment times (the national standard for waiting times).

“Our teams have worked really hard to put on lots of additional activity for patients and ensure all our capacity is used in the best way possible. We are working closely with our community and primary care partners, and we have been working with our Patient Panel to make sure we keep our patients informed at all times about what we’re doing and when we’ll do it by.

“We continually strive for the best care, and we are really positive that this coming year will continue to see substantial improvements in the times that our patients wait.”

 The latest NHS performance statistics also show significant improvements to the region’s urgent and emergency care services.

Thanks to staff at the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust, ambulance response times for the most serious incidents, such as suspected heart attacks and strokes (Category 2 calls) times in the region dropped, with Category 2 times up to March 2026 down an average of 7 minutes on last year.

This was achieved despite a large increase in incidents (+8%) with nearly a million incidents (987k) for the year. Latest data for April 2026 showed a further drop for consecutive months, with the fastest response time in almost five years, averaging 27mins and 21s – the best performance since May 2021.

There were also 239,716 attendances to A&E departments in the east of England in April 2026 – almost 10,500 more than the same month last year.

Despite this demand, more than three quarters of people were seen within four hours (76.8%) – an improvement of 2.4% from 74.4% during April 2025.

ENDS

Notes to editors

• Waiting list data is published at: Statistics » Referral to Treatment (RTT) Waiting Times
• A&E attendance data is published at: Statistics » A&E Attendances and Emergency Admissions
• Ambulance performance data is published at: Statistics » Ambulance Quality Indicators
• The NHS has also published data today showing the impact of the latest round of industrial action