NHS waiting times this month: what changed in August 2026
7,158,164 people were waiting for planned hospital care at the end of August 2026
That is up 26,479 on July 2026 (0.4%), and down 154,192 on August 2025 (-2.1%).
Waits that shortened most
- Kingston 2 weeks shorter than July 2026 See this hospital
- Leighton 2 weeks shorter than July 2026 See this hospital
- Kettering General 1 week shorter than July 2026 See this hospital
- UHB (Good Hope and Heartlands) 1 week shorter than July 2026 See this hospital
- Royal Blackburn 1 week shorter than July 2026 See this hospital
- James Paget 1 week shorter than July 2026 See this hospital
- Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust 1 week shorter than July 2026 See this hospital
- UHCW (University Hospital Coventry) 1 week shorter than July 2026 See this hospital
Waits that lengthened most
- Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital and Scunthorpe General 2 weeks longer than July 2026 See this hospital
- Royal Berkshire and King Edward VII 2 weeks longer than July 2026 See this hospital
- Hereford County 1 week longer than July 2026 See this hospital
- Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust 1 week longer than July 2026 See this hospital
- Queen Elizabeth 1 week longer than July 2026 See this hospital
- Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust 1 week longer than July 2026 See this hospital
- Darlington Memorial and University of Durham 1 week longer than July 2026 See this hospital
- Queen's Medical Centre 1 week longer than July 2026 See this hospital
More detail
The change in each NHS trust's figure for all specialties, in whole weeks. 9 in 10 people on this hospital's waiting list have waited less than this. 136 trusts with 1,000 or more waiting compared.
| Trust | July 2026 | August 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Kingston | 35 weeks | 33 weeks |
| Leighton | 35 weeks | 33 weeks |
| Kettering General | 35 weeks | 34 weeks |
| UHB (Good Hope and Heartlands) | 34 weeks | 33 weeks |
| Royal Blackburn | 35 weeks | 34 weeks |
| James Paget | 42 weeks | 41 weeks |
| Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust | 43 weeks | 42 weeks |
| UHCW (University Hospital Coventry) | 45 weeks | 44 weeks |
| Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital and Scunthorpe General | 43 weeks | 45 weeks |
| Royal Berkshire and King Edward VII | 23 weeks | 25 weeks |
| Hereford County | 37 weeks | 38 weeks |
| Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust | 20 weeks | 21 weeks |
| Queen Elizabeth | 29 weeks | 30 weeks |
| Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust | 18 weeks | 19 weeks |
| Darlington Memorial and University of Durham | 40 weeks | 41 weeks |
| Queen's Medical Centre | 42 weeks | 43 weeks |
Every specialty
| Specialty | Waiting, August 2026 | Change on July 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Trauma and orthopaedics | 843,419 | up 2,452 (0.3%) |
| Ophthalmology | 622,784 | up 1,853 (0.3%) |
| Other medical services | 620,378 | up 4,340 (0.7%) |
| Ear, nose and throat | 589,316 | down 4,719 (-0.8%) |
| Gynaecology | 585,378 | up 70 (0%) |
| Other surgical services | 473,107 | up 4,207 (0.9%) |
| Dermatology | 422,625 | up 8,569 (2.1%) |
| General surgery | 384,427 | up 1,317 (0.3%) |
| Urology | 366,130 | down 1,941 (-0.5%) |
| Cardiology | 360,799 | down 4,016 (-1.1%) |
| Gastroenterology | 357,430 | down 4,060 (-1.1%) |
| Other paediatric services | 321,302 | down 1,894 (-0.6%) |
| Oral surgery | 315,652 | down 2,960 (-0.9%) |
| Neurology | 205,335 | up 1,326 (0.6%) |
| Respiratory medicine | 182,132 | down 1,698 (-0.9%) |
| Other services | 158,987 | up 24,088 (17.9%) |
| Rheumatology | 118,118 | up 494 (0.4%) |
| Plastic surgery | 108,674 | up 1,514 (1.4%) |
| Neurosurgery | 53,980 | up 598 (1.1%) |
| General internal medicine | 28,907 | down 3,528 (-10.9%) |
| Elderly medicine | 27,386 | up 592 (2.2%) |
| Cardiothoracic surgery | 8,551 | down 26 (-0.3%) |
| Other mental health services | 3,347 | down 99 (-2.9%) |
NHS England figures, , checked . About the data.
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