The UK areas where you’ll wait longest for NHS treatment revealed

The UK areas where you’ll wait longest for NHS treatment revealed No more than 8 per cent of patients should wait longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment, the government says - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments Patients living in the most deprived areas of England have to wait longer for NHS treatment than those who live in wealthier areas, data suggests. There are currently more than 7 million people on the elective waiting list for non-emergency procedures, but this needs to be slashed over the next few years to hit the government target of 92 per cent of patients waiting no longer than 18 weeks for treatment. While considerable progress has been made towards this target and wait times for the most and least deprived groups have narrowed slightly in some locations, that difference is stark. Analysis by the Health Foundation, an independent health policy charity, revealed huge differences in levels of deprivation and the time patients waited for elective treatments. For example, in the most deprived areas of Kent and Medway’s integrated care board (ICB), 56.8 per cent of patients were treated within 18 weeks. But in the least deprived areas, 65.9 per cent of people waited less than 18 weeks between February and April 2026. In the Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire ICB, 57.1 per cent of patients were treated within 18 weeks in the most deprived areas, in comparison to 64.2 per cent in the least. Thames Valley ICB also showed large amounts of inequality, with 54.8 per cent of people treated within 18 weeks in the most deprived areas and 60.6 per cent in the least. Overall Essex ICB had the worst wait times, with just 47 per cent of people in the most deprived areas being treated within 18 weeks and 51.1 per cent in the least. Meanwhile, patients in Gloucestershire ICB had the shortest waiting times, with about 70 per cent of people treated within 18 weeks. In April 2026, 63 per cent of patients receiving elective care waited 18 weeks or less. Some 62.5 per cent of people who lived in the most deprived areas had been waiting for 18 weeks or less, compared with 63.6 per cent of people who lived in the least deprived areas. If these percentages were equal, around 7,400 fewer people in the most deprived areas would have had to wait longer than the 18-week standard that month, according to the Health Foundation. The government met an interim target of making sure fewer than 35 per cent of patients wait longer than 18 weeks for treatment as of March 2026. But it is still trying to get that figure to 8 per cent by the end of the parliament. Daniel Law, director of analysis at the Health Foundation, said: "Our analysis shows that despite overall waiting times for elective care improving, inequalities in waiting times persist between people in the most and least deprived areas. “Sharing lessons from high-performing regions and improving data quality will be essential to ensuring progress reaches every part of the country. If the government is to achieve its ambition of restoring the 18-week standard by the end of this parliament, improvements must be felt equitably." The NHS and Department of Health and Social Care have been contacted for comment. Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments