NHS Activity Tracker: July 2025
Community sector
1.1m
people waiting for community services in May
75,580
CYP waited +52 weeks for community services in May
8.29m
care contacts recorded in April
Key points
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The community services waiting list dropped for the first time since January 2025.
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Long waits continue to worsen: The number of children and young people (CYP) waiting over 52 weeks reached a new record, with nearly 20,000 waiting more than two years. Long waits for adults also increased this month.
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Care contact activity has stayed broadly consistent with last year, while community services referrals fell compared to last year.
Waiting list
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In the latest month, the community services waiting list fell for the first time since January 2025, dropping to 1.1 million people. Despite this, pressure across adult’s and children’s services persists, with the waiting list remaining 1.5% larger than last year
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In May, the number of CYP waiting for community services fell by 1.1% compared to last month to 318,870. However, this figure remains 11% higher compared to last year.
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Adult waits also dropped in May to 784,720, 1.9% lower than last year.
Figure 4
Community health services total reported waiting list
Long waits (over 52 weeks)
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Long waits of over 52 weeks for CYP community services are nearly double the number seen last year and have risen every month since February 2023. There are now 75,580 CYP waiting for 52 weeks or more, the highest number on record. Of these, 19,280 CYP have been waiting for more than two years (104 weeks).
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Long waits continued to increase for adults in May. There were 12,800 adults waiting for more than 52 weeks for treatment, up by 10.9% compared to last year. This includes 1,188 adults facing delays of over 104 weeks for treatment.
Referrals and contacts
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In April 2025, there were 1.6 million referrals received, a fall of 5.1% since last year. Referrals have increased by 56% compared to six years ago, before the pandemic (April 2019).
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A total 8.29 million care contacts were reported across all submitters in April 2025 – around 5% lower compared to the same period last year.
Figure 5
Total referrals received by community services
