NHS Activity Tracker: September 2026

On the second Thursday of the month (or the third if there are bank holidays), NHS England publishes data relating to demand, activity, waiting times and national performance against constitutional standards and recovery targets across the secondary care sector. Each month, we'll take a more detailed look at national-level data across the acute, ambulance, community and mental health sectors. 

The data that was released on 10th September contains data for June, July and August 2026. As with other releases throughout the year, these datasets have shown high levels of demand across multiple sectors. For example, A&Es saw 2.34 million attendances in August, which is the busiest August on record; the elective care waiting list saw 1.99 million cases added in July, which is the largest number of new cases in a single month on record; and there were 1.83 million referrals to community services in June, which is the busiest June on record. 

However, also with other releases throughout the year, high levels of activity have also been seen. For example, 2.72 million diagnostic tests and procedures were carried out in July, which is the busiest month on record; 1.65 million cases were managed on the elective care waiting list in July, which is the busiest July on record; and 3.13 million mental health contacts took place in July which is the second busiest month on record.

Please note that these are national averages and there is considerable variation in these metrics at a more granular scale.

Key points

• A&E: there were 2.34m A&E attendances in August, making it the busiest August on record. 750% of patients were seen within four hours.
  
  
• Cancer: No cancer waiting time targets were met this month. Performance against the 28-day standard stood at 79.3% (the target is 80%). The 31-day target is 96% (for 2028/29), but this figure for 92.5% for the month, and the 62-day target is 85% (for 2028/29) and the figure was 71.2%.
  
  
• Diagnostics: The diagnostic waiting list reached 1.92million. 2.72m diagnostic tests and procedures were carried out this month, which is the busiest month on record.
  
  
• Elective waiting list: The waiting list increased to 7.33m. 1.65m cases were managed on the waiting list this month, which is the busiest July on record. Despite this, 1.99m new cases were added to the list, which is the largest number of new cases in a single month on record.
  
  
• Ambulance: There were 811,031 ambulance incidents this month, which is the busiest August on record. The average category 1 response time was seven minutes 56 seconds, and the average category 2 response time was 28 minutes and 52 seconds.
  
  
• Community: 1.24m people were waiting for community services in July, which is the highest figure on record. There were 1.83m referrals to community services in June, which is the busiest June on record. There were 9.08m care contacts reported.
  
  
• Mental health: 2.41m people had an open referral with mental health services, which is the highest figure on record. 2.58m care contacts were attended and 3.13m contacts took place, which is the second highest figure on record.