The latest data published by the NHS has revealed that the waiting list in England has fallen to 7.43 million nationally.
58.9 per cent of patients have been waiting up to 18 weeks, a long way short of the Government’s ambitious target of 92 per cent, which they hope to reach by the end of Parliament in 2029.
Data as of January 2025 revealed that in 57.1 per cent of cases at Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, patients had been waiting within 18 weeks, with the remaining 42.9 per cent waiting over the 18-week mark.
Half of patients had been waiting less than 15 weeks, and in 92 out of 100 cases the patient had been waiting less than 46 weeks.
At the end of January this year, 56.6 per cent of patients were waiting to receive surgery within 18 weeks, with the remaining 43.4 per cent waiting over the 18 week timeframe.
Figures also revealed that currently the trust had 63,399 cases where the patient was waiting to start treatment.
What data revealed:
As of January 2025 for treatment that involved admission:
- In 1,004 cases the patient had started admitted treatment.
- In half of these cases the patient started treatment within 37 weeks.
- In 19 out of 20 cases the patient started treatment within 69 weeks.
For treatment that did not involve admission to hospital:
- In 9,846 cases the patient had started non-admitted treatment.
- In half of these cases the patient started treatment within 13 weeks.
- In 10 out of 20 cases the patient started treatment within 60 weeks.
A spokesperson for Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust said: “We know how frustrating it is for patients who have to wait a long time for treatment.
“Seeing our patients sooner is a priority for us at LGT, as it is for our colleagues across the NHS, and we are committed to making a difference.
“For example, we’re working closely with our local GPs to reduce the number of patients who need referring into our hospitals, and with our patients to reduce the number of non-essential follow up appointments.
“This frees up more time for our teams to see new patients more quickly.
“At the same time, we are increasing the capacity of our services with improvements such as our new Community Diagnostic Centre in Eltham, which fully opens this spring, and our new Lewisham Surgical Centre opening this calendar year, which provides two new operating theatres for Ear, Nose and Throat – one of the largest specialty waiting lists in the country.
“We hope all of this hard work will come together to move us towards reaching the NHS national targets by March 2026, with lots of continual improvement along the way.”
