The number of people waiting to start NHS treatment in England decreased to 7.22 million in February 2026, down 31,006 compared to January 2026, according to official data.
This marked the fourth consecutive month with a fall in the number of referral to treatment (RTT) pathways, where a patient was waiting to start treatment, and is the lowest in three years.
Some patients are on multiple pathways. The number of unique patients is estimated to be around 6.1 million, unchanged from January.
Among the 7.2 million, in 122,668 cases the patient was waiting more than a year, 1,377 cases had been waiting more than 18 months, and 189 had been waiting more than two years.
In 62.6% of cases the patient had been waiting up to 18 weeks, thus not meeting the 92% standard.
Over the month, 1,747,178 new RTT pathways were started and 293,713 pathways were completed as a result of admitted treatment and 1,222,919 were completed in other non-admitted ways.
For those pathways where the patient was waiting to start treatment at the end of February 2026, the median waiting time was 13.2 weeks, with a 92nd percentile waiting time of 39.5 weeks.
Going private
Karen Woodley, head of healthcare distribution at The Exeter, said it was great to see the waiting list heading in the right direction, and a real credit to NHS staff for the enormous effort that has gone into getting more patients seen.
However she noted that with more than six million people still waiting for care, the pressures faced by the public healthcare system would continue for the foreseeable future.
“The recent resident doctors’ strike also adds a further layer of uncertainty as to whether these numbers will increase further,” Woodley continued.
“Health leaders have warned that even short periods of industrial action can take weeks to recover from in terms of rescheduled appointments and further delays.
“In light of these challenges it’s unsurprising that more people are exploring private options.
“The proportion of people accessing private healthcare rose from 9% in 2023 to 16% in 2025 – a significant jump in a short space of time. Private medical insurance is increasingly playing an important role in helping people get the care they need, when they need it, avoiding the uncertainty of an open-ended wait and getting back to normal life sooner.”
Grim milestone
While welcoming a further decline in wait times, David Hare, chief executive of the Independent Healthcare Providers Network (IHPN), maintained these figures marked the grim milestone of a decade now passing since the NHS 18 week target was last met.
“Far too many patients continue to face unnecessary pain and disruption to their lives, and recent polling commissioned by IHPN demonstrates just how much importance the public places on accessing swift, high quality care, with three quarters of people believing that the 18-week target should remain a priority even if the NHS is under significant financial pressure,” Hare continued.
“Recent progress is encouraging but there is much more to do. The independent sector remains fully committed to supporting the NHS’ efforts – removing more than 1.6 million people from NHS waiting lists last year – and will continue to work alongside NHS colleagues to ensure patients get the high quality care they need to live healthy, productive lives.”
Potentially avoidable workplace absences
Dr David Griffiths, chief medical officer (CMO) at Teladoc Health UK, maintained that there are still huge numbers of people spending long periods managing symptoms and navigating decisions about referrals, tests or treatment options.
“If symptoms progress, or medical complications ensue, this may result in potentially avoidable absence from work,” Griffiths said.
“There is a real opportunity to improve support through earlier access to practical clinical care, which can help people manage their symptoms, maintain function, and increase their sense of control so that they’re ready for treatment when the time comes.
“This is why many employers are starting to look more closely at how they can support staff while they wait for NHS treatment. Providing access to services such as physiotherapy, mental health support or clinical advice can help people stay active and remain in work during what can often be a long and uncertain period. In practice, earlier access to these kinds of interventions can make a meaningful difference. For example, internal data from our physiotherapy service shows that up to 75% of users avoided taking time off work and 57% were able to return to work more quickly.”
Bigger priority
Keira Wallis, head of clinical operations at Healix Health, said even when wait times fall, for many working-age adults the key question is whether they receive support early enough to stop a health problem becoming a longer-term issue at work.
“This matters even more now, as the government wants the NHS to focus not only on treating patients, but also on helping more people return to work,” Wallis said.
“We’ve already seen that keeping people healthy and in work is becoming a much bigger priority, as reflected in the Keep Britain Working Review and its focus on the role employers can play. For employers, that means looking beyond treatment alone. Earlier intervention and more preventative support can all make a real difference, helping people recover sooner, avoid falling out of work where possible, and easing some of the pressure on NHS services.”
