{"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":"2026-09-16T03:33:12.948Z","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":0.6733147616238813,"unit":"share of incomplete pathways · RTT-July-2026","period":"Up to 18 weeks","comparisonLabel":"18–52 weeks","comparisonValue":0.31684052265791296,"caveat":null,"release":{"updatedAt":"2026-09-16T03:32:51.249Z","resourceUrl":"https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Full-CSV-data-file-Jul26-ZIP-4M-97ylx5.zip","methodologyUrl":"https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/","releaseLabel":"RTT-July-2026","sourcePublishedAt":null,"resourceChecksum":"261d6a3068270be9cee64c4a130ed603b09b6f7fe421c8b971c38e40484459f4"}}},{"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":11.795122846739895,"unit":"% · DM01-JULY-2026","period":"CT","comparisonLabel":"Waiting 13 weeks or more","comparisonValue":2.741486399657314,"caveat":null,"release":{"updatedAt":"2026-09-16T03:32:57.885Z","resourceUrl":"https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/DM01-JULY-2026-full-extract_5WSGC.zip","methodologyUrl":"https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/diagnostics-waiting-times-and-activity/monthly-diagnostics-waiting-times-and-activity/","releaseLabel":"DM01-JULY-2026","sourcePublishedAt":null,"resourceChecksum":"72c18e73c4f28793096030404249eb838e8d12ab1db3ecb371acf5dfbd81b73d"}}},{"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 · July 2026","period":"Children — Therapy interventions: Orthotics","comparisonLabel":"Waiting over one year","comparisonValue":0,"caveat":null,"release":{"updatedAt":"2026-09-16T03:33:08.963Z","resourceUrl":"https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Community-health-services-waiting-lists-2026-27-July.xlsx","methodologyUrl":"https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/community-health-services-waiting-lists/","releaseLabel":"July 2026","sourcePublishedAt":"2026-09-10T00:00:00.000Z","resourceChecksum":"5965af188a859a0b5dac2a4693d8d2997aa22110599720093034cb82b989d150"}}},{"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":68.41666666666667,"unit":"minutes","period":"2026-08","comparisonLabel":"Category 2 mean","comparisonValue":32.38333333333333,"caveat":null,"release":{"updatedAt":"2026-09-16T03:33:12.948Z","resourceUrl":"https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/AmbSYS-to-Aug-2026-b3dsa.csv","methodologyUrl":"https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ambulance-quality-indicators/","releaseLabel":"2026-08","sourcePublishedAt":"2026-08-01T00:00:00.000Z","resourceChecksum":"93f211f718a1ad7d8bb0dc9b248e5a17dd76540759372080c6f857e93572e155"}}}],"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"}]}