“Huge moment” as the health service hits 18-week target amid half-a-million waiting list drop
https://www.england.nhs.uk/2026/05/health-service-hits-18-week-target-amid-half-million-waiting-list-drop/
Posted by apoptosis04
“Huge moment” as the health service hits 18-week target amid half-a-million waiting list drop
https://www.england.nhs.uk/2026/05/health-service-hits-18-week-target-amid-half-million-waiting-list-drop/
Posted by apoptosis04
25 Comments
This is great news! I’ve actually recently had some really top and quick service from the NHS, it’s really starting to find its feet again.
God can’t wait till labour are gone messing up our NHS. Waiting in line is a crucial part of our culture. And these ghouls want to rob us of it to save some lives. Woke nonsense.
Considering how much the NHS has been improving, why does everyone hate Streeting so much? Is it just because of the Mandelson connection?
Shame that Farage is going to win the next GE and privatise it.
I’m sure I’ll find this being joyfully reported in the Telegraph, Times, Express and Mail. Any minute now!
Can’t wait to see the mainstream media not reporting on this
Can’t wait for Labour & the media to stuff this one under the carpet to make sure as few people as possible see this information and instead launch some pointlessly unpopular policy that drags Labour through the mud for weeks before U-turning on it anyway
Just need to fix GP surgeries now. They need a mandate to stop referring people to A&E for everything.
Really pleased with my recent trips to both hospitals and GPs in my local area. It was rough during COVID, but definitely a recently noticeable improvement in care personally speaking.
Starmer out now, how long do we have to keep putting up with these improvements to ar cuntry
No this can’t be right. Did I just click a news story and instead of the usual psychic glass of vodka and glass shards chucked in my face it’s good fucking news?
A man could weep.
Once again Labour actually being pretty good a running the country is completely ignored by our oligarch owned press
Why would Starmer do this? Surely now he must resign
Honestly I’ve had some really good NHS experiences in the last two years.
Last year both my parents had NHS cataract operations on both eyes. Their average wait was literally three weeks (!)
My dad needs a knee replacement. He thought he would be on the waiting list for 2 years so started doing the physio exercises so when he’s in desperate need he would be nearer the top. The doctor told him the average waiting list in our area was six months.
My daughter has had grommets twice (second time last year). Their hospital wait was four weeks and even then we couldn’t have had it done sooner, we just decided to wait for the school hols.
Our local GP has a good online triage service – you fill in a form, the doctor looks at it and decides if you need an appointment and books you in for same day. I’ve never not been able to get a same day appointment.
I understand there are huge variations in NHS treatment and I’m not discounting that at all. But locally, our personal experience is the NHS is bloody brilliant and seems to be getting fixed.
Meanwhile in Northern Ireland im told I wont receive treatment on NHS in this decade….
The BBC website is a complete clownshow today. Articles like the above, and that GDP grew more than expected this quarter, jostling for position with articles about potential Labour leadership battles!
Well the immigration waiting list has been halved too almost as if Starmer is entirely competent at his job imagine the shock
this is so frustrating to hear while 32 weeks into ‘an average of 23 weeks’ waitlist :/
Needed treatment for the first time in a couple of years yesterday. I filled in a form on the app, called back by my GP five minutes later and had an appointment in the afternoon. He gave me forms to get bloods taken and got an appointment at a nearby hospital to do so this morning. Was told should have results in two days.
I know that this isn’t everyone’s experience, but was very smooth so far for me.
Good.
If only labour werent filled with opportunists and had a capable comms team
It’s pretty easy to make it hit any target when you pay hospitals to remove people from the list.
This is reported every few months, each time analysts always discover it was because they literally went through and removed patients
H>ospitals receive £33 for every patient taken off backlogs in this way.
>Sarah Scobie, the deputy director of research at the Nuffield Trust think tank, told The Telegraph: “The sporadic improvements we see are not all about the NHS delivering more care.
>“There was another uptick in ‘unreported removals’ from the waiting list in January, which includes tidying up the data as much as possible by removing patients who don’t need to be on there any more.”
…
>Other removals include those who died because of a lack of treatment, and people who failed to respond to text messages.
I don’t believe it for a second. My bet is Wes pulled some bullshit like shuffling people around on the lists so he can announce this news in the run up to his leadership bid.
This is stuff kier and labour need to shout about
And it’s barely a whimper
No wonder people think they’ve done fuck all
What is the current waiting list? Is half a million drop good? Still impossible to see a GP where I live unfortunately
Wait times have been reduced by removing more patients from the list not treating patients quicker.
The government is slowly down the speed GP makes referrals to further manipulate the system.
I’ve personally been taken off the list and put back on again which statistically is an improvement.
It’s the next big shit hits the fan scandal when someone important dies because of it.
Evidence: https://www.bmj.com/content/390/bmj.r1753