Cardiac referral waiting times

Notes

This tool presents trends in NHS England’s consultant-led Referral to Treatment (RTT) waiting times data. It uses incomplete pathways, representing patients still waiting to start elective treatment at the end of each month.

Waiting list size and population-adjusted rates (per 100,000 people) can be viewed by specialty at national, regional and Integrated Care Board (ICB) level from 2016 onwards.

Data and methodology

Waiting list size rates have been calculated using mid-year population estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for each year, with projections used where these are not available. Where there have been boundary changes since the last ICB projections were published (e.g. Greater Manchester) we have used local authority updates instead.

Known reporting or data quality issues affect some ICBs, including Greater Manchester, Gloucestershire and South West London. ICB boundaries reflect the 36-board configuration implemented in April 2026.