NHS Activity Tracker: August 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 13th August 2026 contains figures for May, June and July 2026 – in some cases encompassing the heatwaves that have been experienced this summer. This context is important to consider when looking at these figures.  

Data releases throughout 2026 have shown high levels of demand across multiple sectors. For example, record attendances were seen in A&E in July, with 2.49m attendances; mental health services had 2.37 million people with open referrals (the highest figure on record); and a record-breaking 1.97 million new cases were added to the elective care waiting list.  

However, there are also areas showing high levels of activity. For example, 2.65 million diagnostic tests and procedures were carried out in June, which is the busiest month on record; there were 2.54 million mental health care contacts attended in June, which is an increase of 11.1% compared with May; and 1.66 million pathways were completed in elective care, which is the busiest June and the fourth 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 2.49 million A&E attendances in July, which is the busiest month on record. This means that A&E departments have seen four record-breaking months for demand in 2026 so far. Despite this, 75.4% of patients were seen within four hours.
  
  
• Cancer: No cancer waiting time targets were met this month. Performance against the 28-day standard remained at 79.0% (the target is 80%). The 31-day target is 96%, but this figure for 92.2% for the month, and the 62-day target is 85% and the figure was 69.9%.
  
  
• Diagnostics: The diagnostic waiting list stood at 1.92 million. 2.65 million diagnostic tests and procedures were carried out, making this the busiest month on record for diagnostic activity. 
  
  
• Elective waiting list: The size of the elective waiting list decreased to 7.27 million in June, from 7.28 million in May. 65.8% of cases were waiting for less than 18 weeks. Demand for elective care, measured by new cases added to the list was at a record high (1.97 million cases) and continues to outpace activity, despite 1.66 million cases being managed off the list, which is the highest June on record.
  
  
• Ambulance: There were 829,675 ambulance incidents this month. This is the second busiest month outside of winter since records began.  Average response times improved this month: the response time for category 1 calls was eight minutes exactly, and for category 2 calls it was 29 minutes and 49 seconds.
  
  
• Community: 1.23 million people were waiting for community services in June, which is the highest figure on record. There were 1.68 million referrals to community services, and 8.46 million care contacts in May. 
  
  
• Mental health:  2.37 million people had an open referral to mental services which is the highest figure on record, and 896,596 CYP accessed these services which is also the highest figure on record. 2.54 million care contacts were attended, which is an increased of 11.1% since May 2026.