Overview
- - National performance rose to 69.1% of patients starting treatment within 62 days in 2025, up from 67.7% in 2024 yet far below the 85% standard.
- - Only three of 119 comparable acute trusts hit the 85% target last year: Calderdale & Huddersfield (89.2%), Homerton Healthcare (85.8%) and Maidstone & Tunbridge Wells (85.7%).
- - Around a quarter of trusts reached the government’s interim 75% benchmark set for March 2026, underscoring the gap to near-term goals.
- - The lowest performers included Mid & South Essex (45.4%), Sheffield Teaching Hospitals (50.1%), Hull University Teaching Hospitals (53.1%), Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn (54.2%) and Guy’s & St Thomas’ (55.1%).
- - Very long waits persist, with at least one in seven December 2025 starters waiting over 104 days at several trusts, including Leicester (13.7%), Sheffield (14.9%), King’s Lynn (14.5%), Guy’s & St Thomas’ (15.5%), Hull (16.5%) and Mid & South Essex (17.0%).