NHS Intelligence

NHS Waiting Lists, Trust Performance, and CQC Ratings

Waiting list sizes, 18-week breach rates, trust-level breakdowns, CQC inspection ratings, and diagnostics backlogs — broken down by specialty, trust, and region. Updated monthly.

7.6M
Patients on incomplete RTT pathways (latest month)
23.8%
Waiting over 18 weeks — vs 8% NHS target
167 trusts
With CQC rating cross-reference
Sample data — RTT incomplete pathways by specialty · Latest month5 of 30+ specialties
SpecialtyTotal waiting>18 weeks>52 weeks% >18w
Trauma & Orthopaedics782,410186,30018,42023.8%
Ophthalmology678,200124,50011,30018.4%
General Surgery521,89098,6009,87018.9%
Gynaecology389,40067,2005,10017.3%
ENT362,10071,8006,20019.8%
🔒 All 30+ specialties unlocked with subscription · View pricing

Source: NHS England Referral to Treatment (RTT) Statistics. Processed and structured by Meridian. Updated monthly.

Sample data — Trust-level performance with CQC ratings5 of 167 trusts
TrustTotal waiting% >18 weeksCQC rating
University Hospitals Birmingham124,50028.1%Good
Manchester University NHS FT118,20022.4%Good
Leeds Teaching Hospitals97,40019.7%Good
Barts Health NHS Trust91,80031.2%Requires Improvement
Guy's and St Thomas' NHS FT86,50016.3%Outstanding
🔒 All 167 trusts with CQC cross-reference unlocked with subscription · View pricing

Source: NHS England RTT + CQC inspection ratings. Cross-referenced and updated monthly by Meridian.

What you get

Every feature included in your Starter subscription. Pro adds API access, diagnostics data, and priority support.

Waiting Time Trends
See how waiting lists are moving — nationally, by specialty, or by trust. The 18-week constitutional target is plotted as a reference line so you can spot compliance at a glance.
Monthly data going back to 2012. Filter by any of 30+ treatment specialties. See total waiting, patients over 18 weeks, and patients over 52 weeks on a single chart.
Specialty Breakdown
See which specialties are driving the backlog. Click any specialty to expand its trend chart and understand where pressure is building — or easing.
Sortable by total waiting, 18-week breach rate, and 52-week count. Insight cards highlight month-on-month changes and year-on-year trends.
Trust-Level Performance
Compare individual NHS trusts against the national average. Quickly identify trusts performing significantly above or below target — essential for commissioning decisions and referral routing.
Every trust's 18-week compliance rate, total waiting list size, and 52-week breach count. 24-month trend history per trust. Sortable by any metric.
CQC Ratings Alongside Wait Data
Each trust shows its current CQC inspection rating — Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement, or Inadequate — colour-coded for instant recognition alongside performance data.
Ratings update automatically when CQC publishes new inspections. Filter trusts by rating band to focus on the ones that matter to you.
Diagnostics Waiting Times
See which diagnostic tests are most backed up — MRI, CT, endoscopy, echocardiography, and more — and which trusts are the bottleneck.
Per-test breakdown with trend comparison. Identifies tests breaching the 6-week diagnostic standard. Pro subscribers get alerts on threshold breaches.
Peer Alerts
Get notified when comparable trusts breach key thresholds. Match alerts to your profile — region, trust type, and specialties — so you only see what matters.
Covers 52-week breaches, 18-week compliance drops, and CQC rating changes. Set once, receive ongoing.
Pairs with
Contracts Finder
NHS trusts with the longest waiting lists and expiring clinical services contracts are your highest-probability bid targets. Combine backlog pressure with procurement timelines to time your outreach to the tendering cycle.
View Contracts Finder →
NHS commissioners & ICS leads
Monitor trust-level waiting list performance against national benchmarks. Identify specialties driving backlogs in your region and allocate elective recovery funding accordingly.
Healthcare consultancies
Build client presentations with clean, structured waiting time data. Show trust-level trends and CQC cross-references without spending days cleaning NHS spreadsheets.
Private hospital operators
Identify trusts and specialties with the longest waits to target patient choice referrals. Track where NHS capacity pressure creates private sector opportunity.

Start tracking NHS performance

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