As set out in the Plan for Change, we are committed to returning to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment by March 2029. We met our interim target of 65% of pathways involving waits of less than 18 week in March 2026 and, as of May 2026, 65.6% are waiting less than 18 weeks. For patients waiting for ophthalmology services, 74.1% of pathways are waiting less than 18 weeks as of May 2026, an improvement on 66.1% at the start of July 2024.

We are 18 months into our Elective Reform Plan and through setting ambitious targets, investing in modernisation, reforming and simplifying pathways, increasing surgical and diagnostic capacity, and empowering patients with faster and more convenient access to care, we are seeing results. The waiting list currently stands at 7.28 million patient pathways as of May 2026, down by over 340,000 since the start of July 2024. Patients on the waiting list are prioritised at a local level based on clinical need, in line with the NHS’s core principle.

In April 2026, for ophthalmology, performance against the standard for 92% of patients to start first treatment within 18 weeks of referral was 73.1%, 5.3% higher than a year earlier.

In most cases, contracts will have to comply with National Health Service unit prices, a set of prices and rules used by providers of NHS care and commissioners to deliver the most efficient, cost-effective care to patients. These unit prices are consistent across independent sector providers and NHS providers. Productivity rate information is not held centrally by the Department. Integrated care boards are the primary bodies responsible for commissioning care from healthcare providers and ensuring value for money is achieved.

The Hospital Admitted Patient Care Activity dataset, published by NHS England, can be used to identify procedure types, including those undertaken as part of cataract operations. Data for the 2025/26 financial year is not yet currently published. This is currently due for publication in September 2026.

The following table shows a count of cataract operations in 2025, both those in an admitted setting, or Finished Consultant Episodes (FCEs), and outpatient settings, split by NHS and non-NHS providers where there was any cataract procedure:

Source: Hospital Episode Statistics.

A FCE is a continuous period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FCEs are typically counted against the year in which they end, which is the approach we have taken here. Figures do not represent the number of different patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the same stay in hospital or in different stays in the same year. Admitted outpatient appointments include first and follow-up attendances and telephone consultations, and excludes did not attends and cancellations. The below procedure codes are those which are considered under cataract operations:

• C71: Extracapsular extraction of lens;

• C72: Intracapsular extraction of lens;

• C73: Incision of capsule of lens;

• C74: Other extraction of lens;

• C75: Prosthesis of lens; and

• C77: Other operations on lens.

Independent sector providers are commissioned and managed by integrated care boards (ICBs) under the terms of the NHS Standard Contract which applies the same standards of oversight and regulation as are applied to National Health Service providers.

In the 10-Year Health Plan for England, we set out we would not tolerate ‘gaming’ the national payment tariff to cherry pick the simplest, most profitable cases. ICBs are expected to monitor this, and act decisively where they identify problems as part of a wider duty to safeguard and ensure value for taxpayer money.

As of 12 April 2026, there are 1,124 patients waiting more than 52 weeks for treatment of cataracts within the National Health Service in England.

As set out in the Plan for Change and the Elective Reform Plan, we are committed to returning by March 2029 to the NHS constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment. As part of this ambition, we are continuing to encourage and support providers to reduce waits for patients who have waited longest for treatment.

The Elective Reform Plan also provides a range of measures to improve the experience of care for patients, including those experiencing long waits. This includes engaging with patients and carers to publish a set of minimum standards that patients can expect to experience in elective care.

Ophthalmology waiting lists have fallen since we have taken office. Average waiting times have reduced, and 18-week performance has improved. ICBs have the flexibility to commission services across specialties within a fixed financial envelope, and may use contract levers to manage that activity. That is good management of public money to achieve the outcomes we want to see.

Short waiting lists for cataract surgery are a success story, thanks in part to the partnership between the NHS and providers such as SpaMedica, headquartered in my constituency. However, ICB indicative activity plans could see waiting lists increase from weeks to over four months. How will cataract patients be protected while we maintain those all-important short waiting lists?

The Department does not hold this data.

Integrated care boards have existing contractual powers to manage activity by providers, which were enhanced in 2025/26 with central support for setting and managing activity. Commissioners’ use of these powers support systems to live within their means and deploy better financial discipline than previous years where systems have overspent. As these powers are exercised by local systems, no national assessment has been made.

We expect the use of activity management provisions by local systems to support efforts achieving the goal of at least 65% of patients waiting no longer than 18 weeks for treatment by March 2026 whilst living within financial budgets set for 2025/26.

The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, sets out the productivity and modernisation efforts needed to reach the 92% standard by March 2029. We have set a national ambition that by March 2026, 65% of patients will wait no longer than 18 weeks, with every trust expected to deliver a minimum five percentage point improvement on current performance over that period.

In December 2025, 70.2% of patients on the elective waiting list nationally, and 79% of patients in the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care Board, were waiting under 18 weeks for ophthalmology services. Since the Government came into office, the elective waiting list in England has now been cut by 330,417. This is despite 31.7 million referrals onto the waiting list.

We know further progress is needed to return to the constitutional standard. In September 2025, we announced an “online hospital”, via NHS Online, which will give people on certain pathways the choice of getting the specialist care they need from their home. It will connect patients with clinicians across the country through secure, online appointments accessed through the NHS App.

Data on the number of glaucoma patients who weren't offered a combined procedure to treat glaucoma at the time of cataract surgery is not held.

The best treatment options will be decided by the treating clinician, in discussion with the patient, considering an individuals’ clinical circumstances and relevant professional clinical guidance and best available evidence.

The Getting It Right First Time programme is also developing best practice guidance for glaucoma services, to support the consistent adoption of high standards of care from detection onwards.

Independent providers play an important role supporting the National Health Service to deliver eyecare services, ensuring patients receive the treatment and care they need. However, we were clear in the 10-Year Health Plan that we will neither tolerate ‘gaming’ the national payment tariff to cherry pick the simplest, most profitable cases, nor any quality shortcomings.

The NHS Counter Fraud Authority operates as an independent body conducting data analysis to prevent fraud and other economic crime within the NHS, with all suspicions of fraud and investigations managed with the utmost confidentiality. Any updates on cases will be reported at the appropriate time.

The best treatment options for any individual patient will be decided by the treating clinician in discussion with the patient, taking into account relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance. NICE guidance on trabecular stent bypass microsurgery for open-angle glaucoma sets out that trabecular bypass surgery can be combined with a cataract operation and has shown its ability to reduce intraocular pressure.

Independent providers play an important role supporting the National Health Service to deliver eyecare services, ensuring patients receive the treatment and care they need.

The data is not held in the format requested.

The following table shows the number of patients who have undergone National Health Service cataract surgery in private clinics in each of the last six years:

Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, NHS England.
Note: the data for 2024/25 is provisional as counts produced from provisional data are likely to be lower than those generated for the same period in the final data set.

A table showing the number and proportion of patients who received National Health Service cataract surgery in private clinics, who were then re-admitted post-surgery to NHS providers in each of the last six years, is attached.

No assessment has been made of the quality of lenses used by private providers of National Health Service cataract surgery.

The safety of all patients, whether they are treated in the NHS or the independent sector, is a top priority for the Government. All providers of healthcare are regulated by the Care Quality Commission and follow a set of fundamental standards of safety and quality, below which care should never fall.

Health is a devolved matter. Combined treatment for glaucoma and cataracts can already be considered when clinically appropriate, taking into account the patient’s wishes and the best available evidence.

There are currently 80,935 patients waiting for cataract surgery. The average National Health Service waiting time for this procedure is 15.6 weeks.

The Government is committed to putting patients first. We will ensure 92% of patients return to waiting no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment by March 2029, a standard which has not been met consistently since September 2015.

We are proceeding with our commitment to cutting NHS waiting lists and ensuring people have the best possible experience during their care. We have delivered a reduction in the list of 160,000 pathways as well as provided over two million extra appointments, including for ophthalmology.

NHS England is also testing how improved IT connectivity between primary care optometry and secondary eye care services could improve the referral process and allow for the virtual triage of patients. This also includes looking at whether patients can be managed in the community, freeing up hospital eye clinic capacity for patients that need face to face specialist input.