Website of the Department of Health

Hospital Waiting Times and Waiting Lists

This section contains information on the waiting times of  patients and waiting lists collected from English PCTs on a responsible population basis, and also from NHS Trusts on a provider basis.

Included are both commissioner based and provider based data collections:
• Hospital outpatient waiting times for 1st outpatient appointments following GP referral;
• Hospital inpatient waiting list information on patients who are waiting to be admitted for treatment;
• Elective admission events that include decisions to admit, admissions, failure to attend, removals, deferrals and suspensions.

The collection of this information allows the Department of Health to accurately analyse hospital waiting times and waiting lists, enabling us to observe monthly progress and identify any problematic areas. The inpatient and outpatient waiting times are key measures in monitoring the progress towards the delivery of the 18-week target.