To: All colleagues

14 May 2026

Dear colleagues,

I wanted to take a moment to thank you all personally for the tremendous effort you have put in over the last year.

For the first time in a number of years, we have collectively achieved the commitments we made to the public at the beginning of the year – you should rightly be proud of the important role you’ve played in that achievement.

Today’s figures show that in the last year alone you’ve delivered more elective care than at any point in history: ambulance response times for category 2 callouts such as suspected heart attacks and strokes were more than 5 minutes faster than the previous year; waiting lists have dropped by 312,000 over the past 12 months – the largest reduction in the waiting list in 16 years – and we’ve hit our 18-week target.

None of this has happened by accident – it’s down to the serious shift you’ve all put in this year and your commitment to getting the NHS back on its feet. So thank you.

I know there’s a lot more to do, but I didn’t want this moment to pass without recognition of the efforts and sacrifices you have all had to make over the last year.

Our work on the Resident Doctors 10 Point Plan this year has proven where we focus on things that make a difference to staff, things really can get better. Throughout the coming year I want us to put much more effort into the things that improve the working lives for each and every one of you and you have my commitment on that.

For today though, I hope you can take a moment to reflect on this year’s achievements and the incredible contribution you have made.

Thanks again and keep going…

Jim

Sir Jim Mackey
Chief Executive Officer
NHS England