NHS England figures revealed almost 2.2m more elective care appointments were delivered between July and November 2024, while waiting lists have also been cut by almost 160,000 since the Government came into office.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: ‘We're delivering on our promise to fix the NHS and make sure people get the care they need, when they need it. 

‘We said we'd turn this around and that's exactly what we're doing - this milestone is a shot in the arm for our plan to get the NHS back on its feet and cut waiting times.'

The Government said the news marked a major step towards its milestone of treating 92% of elective care patients within 18 weeks of referral by the end of this Parliament.

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Rory Deighton, acute director at the NHS Confederation, said: ‘The NHS is showing early signs of recovery, and it is positive news that many patients have received vital operations, scans, treatments, and consultations earlier than planned. NHS leaders and their teams have been working extremely hard to ramp up their productivity in the wake of Covid and industrial action, and in the face of relentless demand and pressure.'

Interim chief executive at NHS Providers, Saffron Cordery, said: ‘Given that funding for and levels of elective activity have been capped since January, trusts will need to work harder and be more innovative to maintain this pace and progress. However, this should not detract from the achievement of this significant milestone.'

NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard said: ‘This is an important milestone – primarily for patients, who are getting quicker access to the tests and treatments they need, with the waiting list falling by 160,000 since July. But it is also the latest demonstration that when the NHS is given the right tools for the job, it can and does deliver – so thank you to every colleague who has helped get us to this point.

‘There is, of course, much more to do to hit the ambition of returning to constitutional standards by 2029, but the Elective Care Reform Plan will allow us to build on this incredible progress as we boost capacity and drive efficiency while also improving the experience of patients.'