NHS performance statistics

Summary

There are many measures and corresponding statistics to help people judge the performance of the NHS. However, we advise that care is taken and detailed context is provided when making comparisons of NHS performance between governments of the UK.

In England, the statistics on NHS performance are published by NHS England. These statistics cover a range of topics across both unscheduled and scheduled care, including emergency calls to the ambulance service, emergency department attendances and admissions to hospital, emergency department waits, outpatient referrals and appointments, diagnostic and therapy waiting times, and cancer services.

Public Health Scotland publishes information about NHS services in Scotland and NHS Inform publishes a dashboard which includes statistics on outpatient and inpatient waiting times for planned care.

In Wales, the Welsh Government publishes statistics on NHS activity and performance. Stats Wales publishes more granular breakdowns for all of the topics covered in the NHS activity and performance outcome, as well as various other topics relevant to NHS performance.

The Department of Health in Northern Ireland publishes a range of statistics on health and social care services in Northern Ireland. A dashboard called My Waiting Times NI is available to let patients know about average waiting times by Health and Social Care Trust.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) also publish some health statistics for England and Wales.

Things to consider in statements about NHS performance:

NHS performance statistics will vary between UK governments because they are based on data collected to meet different policies and targets. This means valid comparisons between UK governments can be limited and any attempt to communicate a comparison needs to be very clear on what basis the comparison has been made.

Some guidance about the differences between UK countries, the impact on the statistics and how best to make appropriate comparisons has been developed. A partnership of devolved governments, ONS and other departments has published a summary of ambulance response time data in the UK; an analysis about the healthcare workforce across the UK and an analysis of Accident and Emergency wait times across the UK. These reports explain how and why the data are collected differently between governments in the UK. The partnership has announced the publication later in June of an analysis on NHS Planned Care Waiting Times across the UK.

What to look out for when hearing statements on this topic:

When statements are made, for example about reducing or cutting waiting lists, the time frame being used for the claim is important context that should be included. Claims that attribute success to policy interventions based on short term changes in the data should be viewed with caution. This is because, while policy levers may affect NHS performance, there are a range of other factors that may cause short term changes that are not reflected in longer term trends. For example, seasonal fluctuations and emerging illnesses.

Claims around A&E performance should focus on comparing waiting times for Type 1 and major emergency departments, rather than all types of emergency units. This is because healthcare policy on how A&E waiting time data are collected between England, Scotland, and Wales is sufficiently similar for Type 1 and major emergency departments to make broad comparisons between their A&E waiting time data. Other types of A&E department cannot be included in cross-country comparisons, as their definitions within respective healthcare policy differs too greatly.

Specifically, when thinking about comparing A&E waiting times and attendance figures, there are wider differences between healthcare delivery that should also be taken into account when interpreting the data from each country. These include:

• the rural and urban split.
• differences within populations across the four countries (including levels of deprivation, disability, long-term illness, and age profile).
• the mix of healthcare facilities available, within countries and across the UK.

Wider support

The Government Analysis Function has published an interactive database listing all the statistics produced by government departments about the NHS or public health.

The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities launched a new summary dashboard titled Health trends in England to introduce Fingertips public health data. This report is updated monthly and provides population health trend information at a regional level.

Full Fact, the UK’s independent fact checker, has published an explainer on NHS waiting lists: what you need to know in 2024.

The King’s Fund is a charitable organisation that produces independent insight and analysis of health and care in England.

The Nuffield Trust is an independent health think tank that provides evidence-based research and policy analysis on the quality of health care in the UK.