The NHS trusts where patients face the shortest waits for treatment – and where they suffer the longest delays – have been revealed in a Daily Mail analysis.
Our investigation exposes stark disparities in waiting times across England, with patients at some hospitals far more likely to be left without vital care than those elsewhere.
It also highlights huge differences in the number of operations cancelled at the last minute, leaving some patients waiting more than four weeks for another treatment date.
Nationally, 65.8 per cent of patients on NHS waiting lists had been on standby for 18 weeks or less in September, the highest proportion since September 2021.
The health service is supposed to start treatment for 92 per cent of patients within 18 weeks of referral, a target it has failed to meet for years.
But despite signs of improvement nationally, the figures expose a stark postcode lottery in how long patients are waiting.
At Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, for example, just 51.6 per cent of patients on the waiting list had been waiting 18 weeks or less.
In other words, almost half had already waited longer than the target.
By contrast, 85.6 per cent of patients at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust were still within the 18-week target, meaning only around one in seven had been waiting longer.
The figures, published by NHS England, measure how long patients have been waiting to start treatment after being referred by a GP or another clinician.
The Mail’s interactive tables allow readers to see how their local NHS trust compares with others across England.
The analysis focused on NHS providers with waiting lists of at least 10,000 patients, to avoid results being distorted by small numbers.
Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Basildon University Hospital, Broomfield Hospital and Southend University Hospital, recorded the worst performance.
It was followed by University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, which runs sites including Royal Sussex County Hospital and Worthing Hospital.
There, just 52 per cent of patients on the waiting list had been waiting 18 weeks or less.
Third worst was Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, which operates Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital, at 54.7 per cent.
At the other end of the rankings, Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, which runs sites including Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital, came second behind Moorfields, with 83.6 per cent of patients still within the 18-week target.
Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Royal Berkshire Hospital and Townlands Memorial Hospital, came third, at 82.7 per cent.
Meanwhile, separate NHS figures expose wide disparities in the number of non-emergency operations cancelled at the last minute – and how often patients are left waiting more than four weeks for treatment.
Operations can be cancelled at short notice because of staff shortages, a lack of available beds or insufficient operating theatre capacity.
Some trusts told the Mail that procedures may also be cancelled if a patient is not well enough to undergo them.
Under NHS rules, patients whose elective operations are cancelled at the last minute for non-clinical reasons should be offered another firm treatment date within 28 days.
But figures covering October 2025 to September 2026 show that some trusts are falling well short of this standard.
The Mail has also produced an interactive map showing how trusts across England compare.
At North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust, 625 operations were cancelled at the last minute during the 12-month period, while 498 breaches of the 28-day treatment standard were recorded – equivalent to 79.7 per cent of the number of cancellations.
George Eliot Hospital NHS Foundation Trust also recorded a high rate, with 124 breaches compared with 196 cancelled operations, equivalent to 63.3 per cent.
At Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, there were 117 breaches compared with 202 cancellations, equivalent to 57.9 per cent.
By contrast, several trusts recorded no breaches of the 28-day standard following last-minute cancellations.
These included Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust, Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust and Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust.
The findings come as the NHS faces mounting pressure ahead of winter.
October was the busiest month on record for accident and emergency (A&E) departments, with more than 2.5million attendances.
Ambulance services also faced record demand, responding to almost 870,000 incidents during the month, up 7.7 per cent on October last year.
Last month, NHS national medical director Professor Frankie Swords warned that hospitals were already seeing the ‘ominous’ early signs of winter pressures.
And earlier this week, the UK Health Security Agency issued the first cold weather alerts of the season, warning that falling temperatures could have a ‘serious impact’ on people with existing health conditions.
Health Secretary Yvette Cooper said today: ‘This Autumn has been the busiest ever for our NHS – with record numbers of people attending A&E and record numbers of elective appointments and treatments.
‘Despite the relentless pressure, the NHS has delivered a record 30.6 million diagnostic tests, checks and scans over the last twelve months, and more people are being treated within 18 weeks than the same time last year.
‘I want to pay tribute to all the NHS staff whose commitment and hard work has made that possible.
‘As we head into winter, those pressures will increase.
‘That’s why we are bringing in a new £40million GP programme to help frail elderly people stay well at home and expanding the Pharmacy First scheme, so people can get care where they need it most.’
Christine Blanshard, chief medical officer at Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, told the Mail: ‘As one of the biggest Trusts in the country, the number of patients waiting for treatment reflects that.
‘We know that waiting for treatment is frustrating for our patients, and while our waiting times have been consistently improving, we recognise that there is still much more to do.’
She added that the trust is ‘focused on treating patients as quickly as we can and reducing our waiting times’.
A spokesman for Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust said: ‘We are reviewing the data to ensure the reasons for procedures not being rearranged within 28 days are accurately understood and recorded, as there can be a number of reasons why this may happen, including where a child is not clinically well enough to undergo their planned procedure.’
He added that the overall number of elective cancellations remains low.
‘In 2025/26, only 20 operations were cancelled due to a lack of ward beds, with more than 99 per cent of planned elective procedures going ahead or otherwise being appropriately managed on the day,’ he said.
University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust and George Eliot Hospital NHS Foundation Trust were approached for comment.