{"schemaVersion":"1.0","type":"DataStory","id":"how-long-london-waits-for-care","title":"How long London waits for care","description":"Elective, diagnostic, emergency and community waits are separate queues with separate standards.","introduction":"NHS waiting-time headlines often collapse unlike pathways. This story keeps each published standard and denominator intact and treats provider performance as provider-based, not borough-resident experience.","category":"NHS","canonical":"https://londongraph.com/story/how-long-london-waits-for-care","markdown":"https://londongraph.com/story/how-long-london-waits-for-care/index.html.md","updatedAt":"2026-08-01T23:49:54.976Z","caveat":"Pathways are not necessarily unique people. Provider and service populations differ, and provisional publications can revise.","evidence":[{"dataset":"nhs-elective-wait-bands","graphSlug":"nhs-elective-wait-bands","label":"Elective wait bands","text":"The latest incomplete RTT pathways distributed across published waiting bands.","shape":"categories","graph":"https://londongraph.com/g/nhs-elective-wait-bands","claim":{"dataset":"nhs-elective-wait-bands","graphSlug":"nhs-elective-wait-bands","label":"Elective wait bands","text":"The latest incomplete RTT pathways distributed across published waiting bands.","headlineLabel":"Up to 18 weeks","value":0.6699423244547028,"unit":"share of incomplete pathways · RTT-May-2026","period":"Up to 18 weeks","comparisonLabel":"18–52 weeks","comparisonValue":0.3200253743637434,"caveat":null,"release":{"updatedAt":"2026-08-01T23:45:03.566Z","resourceUrl":"https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Full-CSV-data-file-May26-ZIP-3M-3jBgba.zip","methodologyUrl":"https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/","releaseLabel":"RTT-May-2026","sourcePublishedAt":"2026-05-31T00:00:00.000Z","resourceChecksum":"b99c134c078f3d0e88238b32778ee0c24f96887387e30321ccf5ea78c3fa46eb"}}},{"dataset":"nhs-diagnostic-waits-by-test","graphSlug":"nhs-diagnostic-waits-by-test","label":"Diagnostic waits","text":"Test-level within-standard and long-wait measures.","shape":"latest","graph":"https://londongraph.com/g/nhs-diagnostic-waits-by-test","claim":{"dataset":"nhs-diagnostic-waits-by-test","graphSlug":"nhs-diagnostic-waits-by-test","label":"Diagnostic waits","text":"Test-level within-standard and long-wait measures.","headlineLabel":"Waiting over 6 weeks","value":12.782086419033178,"unit":"% · DM01-MAY-2026","period":"CT","comparisonLabel":"Waiting 13 weeks or more","comparisonValue":3.6561898652982685,"caveat":null,"release":{"updatedAt":"2026-08-01T23:45:26.433Z","resourceUrl":"https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/DM01-MAY-2026-full-extract_8BN1G.zip","methodologyUrl":"https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/diagnostics-waiting-times-and-activity/monthly-diagnostics-waiting-times-and-activity/","releaseLabel":"DM01-MAY-2026","sourcePublishedAt":"2026-05-31T00:00:00.000Z","resourceChecksum":"56e9e1ad552f368d3512618abbdcd6bc9189f995e2dd3f579ec4af9cdd8d1c0d"}}},{"dataset":"nhs-community-long-waits","graphSlug":"nhs-community-long-waits","label":"Community long waits","text":"Adult and child community pathways kept separate.","shape":"latest","graph":"https://londongraph.com/g/nhs-community-long-waits","claim":{"dataset":"nhs-community-long-waits","graphSlug":"nhs-community-long-waits","label":"Community long waits","text":"Adult and child community pathways kept separate.","headlineLabel":"Waiting over 18 weeks","value":0,"unit":"people · May 2026","period":"Children — Therapy interventions: Orthotics","comparisonLabel":"Waiting over one year","comparisonValue":0,"caveat":null,"release":{"updatedAt":"2026-08-01T23:46:03.659Z","resourceUrl":"https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Community-health-services-waiting-lists-2026-27-May.xlsx","methodologyUrl":"https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/community-health-services-waiting-lists/","releaseLabel":"May 2026","sourcePublishedAt":"2026-07-09T00:00:00.000Z","resourceChecksum":"e93fb7f3ff22360163654cc7d0d8e1c7cac2aea8abbb4eec5c5c6811167d45d6"}}},{"dataset":"london-ambulance-response-times","graphSlug":"london-ambulance-response-times","label":"Ambulance response","text":"Raw response-time performance against category standards.","shape":"latest","graph":"https://londongraph.com/g/london-ambulance-response-times","claim":{"dataset":"london-ambulance-response-times","graphSlug":"london-ambulance-response-times","label":"Ambulance response","text":"Raw response-time performance against category standards.","headlineLabel":"Category 2 90th percentile","value":71.21666666666667,"unit":"minutes","period":"2026-06","comparisonLabel":"Category 2 mean","comparisonValue":33,"caveat":null,"release":{"updatedAt":"2026-08-01T23:49:54.976Z","resourceUrl":"https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/AmbSYS-to-Jun-2026-b4Uah.csv","methodologyUrl":"https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ambulance-quality-indicators/","releaseLabel":"2026-06","sourcePublishedAt":"2026-06-01T00:00:00.000Z","resourceChecksum":"3c5bd0a43d382640338388740f299cb211a17d7fa9a97f91e8d23bae4b8f5586"}}}],"sources":[{"name":"NHS England RTT / NHS ODS","url":"https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/","graphSlug":"nhs-elective-wait-bands"},{"name":"NHS England diagnostics / NHS ODS","url":"https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/diagnostics-waiting-times-and-activity/monthly-diagnostics-waiting-times-and-activity/","graphSlug":"nhs-diagnostic-waits-by-test"},{"name":"NHS England Community Health Services SitRep","url":"https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/community-health-services-waiting-lists/","graphSlug":"nhs-community-long-waits"},{"name":"NHS England Ambulance Quality Indicators","url":"https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ambulance-quality-indicators/","graphSlug":"london-ambulance-response-times"}]}