Access to services

Measures how effectively patients can access NHS services, covering elective care waiting times, cancer treatment pathways, mental health access, and urgent and emergency care responsiveness. Timely access is fundamental to early diagnosis, effective treatment, and patient confidence in the health system.

Comparison period

Domain summary

Average score
2.13
Improved2.50 in previous quarter
Quartile
Segment 2
Second-highest-scoring 25%
ImprovedQuartile 3 in previous quarter

Domain metrics

Domain metrics showing metric name, sub-domain, value, compared to Q3 2025/26, score, and rank

Difference between planned and actual 18 week performance	Elective care	3.63 percentage points	ImprovedWas -2.49	1	22
Percentage of cases where a patient is waiting 18 weeks or less for elective treatment	Elective care	63.68%	ImprovedWas 55.10%	2.77	77
Percentage of cases where a patient is waiting more than 52 weeks for elective treatment	Elective care	2.58%	ImprovedWas 4.28%	3.73	122
Percentage of emergency department attendances admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours	Urgent and emergency care	80.76%	ImprovedWas 80.45%	1	20
Percentage of emergency department attendances spending over 12 hours in the department	Urgent and emergency care	6.73%	DeclinedWas 4.96%	1.99	41
Percentage of patients treated for cancer within 62 days of referral	Cancer care	65.17%	DeclinedWas 65.45%	3.41	94
Percentage of patients with cancer diagnosed or ruled out within 28 days of an urgent referral	Cancer care	81.32%	DeclinedWas 81.73%	1	41

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Comparison period

Domain summary

Average score
Quartile

Domain metrics

Metric	Sub-domain	Value	Compared to Q2 2025/26	Score	Rank

Access to services

Comparison period

Difference between planned and actual 18 week performance

Elective care

3.63 percentage points

ImprovedWas -2.49

Percentage of cases where a patient is waiting 18 weeks or less for elective treatment

Elective care

63.68%

ImprovedWas 55.10%

2.77

Percentage of cases where a patient is waiting more than 52 weeks for elective treatment

Elective care

2.58%

ImprovedWas 4.28%

3.73

122

Percentage of emergency department attendances admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours

Urgent and emergency care

80.76%

ImprovedWas 80.45%

Percentage of emergency department attendances spending over 12 hours in the department

Urgent and emergency care

6.73%

DeclinedWas 4.96%

1.99

Percentage of patients treated for cancer within 62 days of referral

Cancer care

65.17%

DeclinedWas 65.45%

3.41

Percentage of patients with cancer diagnosed or ruled out within 28 days of an urgent referral

Cancer care

81.32%

DeclinedWas 81.73%

Domain summary

Average score

Quartile

Domain metrics

Domain summary

Average score

Quartile

Domain metrics

Cookies on the NHS England public data gateway

Domain summary

Average score

Quartile

Domain metrics