The overall waiting list fell from 7.57m to 7.54m in October with staff delivering a record 1.67m treatments.
Streeting said: ‘Since the General Election, we have been ramping up to delivering the extra 2m appointments a year, ending the strikes, and investing more in the health service.
‘As a result, the NHS today is delivering a record number of treatments and waiting lists have begun to fall. There's a long way to go, but through our Plan for Change we will get patients seen on time again.'
The number of patients waiting longer than 18 weeks (3.1m) was the lowest since June 2023, while the number of waits longer than a year (234,885) now the lowest since December 2020 and down 46% on the peak of 436,127 in March 2021.
A record number of diagnostic tests and checks – 2.54m – were delivered, a fifth more activity than pre-pandemic (2.1m in Oct 2019) with the proportion of patients waiting more than six weeks for checks (20.7%) the lowest since March 2020.
More people than ever before were diagnosed with cancer or received the all clear within four weeks (222,888) with the NHS meeting the 28-day target in five of the last six months (77.1% against 75% operational target).
In urgent and emergency services there were more ambulance contacts than any other November (1.18m), up 6% on last year (1.1m in Nov 2023). There was also a significant increase in the most serious Category 1 incidents, up almost a third last month on the same period pre-pandemic (84,266 vs 63,227).
It was the busiest November on record for A&E staff with a total of 2.31m attendances, 7% higher than last year (2.17m in Nov 2023).
Despite the extra demand, teams saw 153,906 more patients within four hours than in November 2023, with performance against the four-hour target up more than two percentage points on last year (72.1% vs 69.8% in Nov 2023).
Response
Tim Gardner, assistant director of Policy at the Health Foundation, said: ‘Today's statistics underline the scale of the challenge the government needs to overcome to meet the 18-week standard for routine hospital treatment within this parliament, as announced by the Prime Minister last week.
‘Whilst promising progress has been made in recent months, the 18-week target hasn't been met for nearly a decade. The waiting list remained stubbornly close to record levels in October with more than 234,000 waits longer than 12 months. With the NHS facing the prospect of a very difficult winter, making further headway over the next few months will be very tough.'
Nuffield Trust senior fellow, Dr Liz Fisher said: ‘Last week the government re-emphasised its promise to tackle waits for planned treatment. The overall waiting list reduced again in the latest data, this time by 32,000, and a record number of treatments were delivered, which is testament to the hard work of staff at all levels across the health service. It would be tempting to assume that sustained good progress on waiting times is on the horizon, but, in winter, NHS data often shows waiting lists decreasing because referrals for planned treatment typically fall during this time. We'll need to wait and see if this is more than just a seasonal trend as the NHS adapts to the intense stress it comes under at this time of year.'
Saffron Cordery, interim chief executive, NHS Providers, said: ‘Resilient trust leaders and staff are giving it all they've got to see patients as quickly as possible and it's great to see the total waiting list come down again.
‘The NHS is providing record numbers of treatments, diagnostic tests and checks – higher than pre-pandemic levels - but is still under huge strain at this busy time of year.
‘Persistent demand keeps piling pressure on hospital, ambulance, community and mental health services tackling huge financial and operational challenges every day but trust leaders and staff are meeting those challenges head-on.'
