NHS chiefs have told ministers that their top health manifesto pledge - to restore the 18-week elective target by 2029 - is “not going to happen”, as a new analysis confirms the service is significantly off track.
The intervention by the NHS Alliance, which represents the large majority of trusts and integrated care boards, follows experts questioning whether ministers should abandon the 18-week pledge last month. Health and social care secretary Yvette Cooper has highlighted other priorities, such as maternity and early years, since her arrival in July.
The Health Foundation’s analysis published today projects the NHS will fall “a long way short” of the 2029 target if current trends continue, with the 92nd percentile wait nearly twice the 18-week standard by the end of the Parliament (see chart below).
Responding to the think tank’s findings, NHS Alliance acute lead Matthew Hopkins said it was time for “an honest conversation” about the target, and to “acknowledge [meeting it] this Parliament is not going to happen”.
He said: “Now with a change of prime minister and secretary of state, attention is turning to reform of social care, maternity and early years, and frailty services. We can’t have everything, everywhere all at once.
“Let’s be honest about where we can get to with the resources available, so there is a clear understanding of what can and cannot be achieved.”
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Source: HSJ, 8 October 2026
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