Historical trend
Trend summary
NHS Talking Therapies services in England saw 60.4% of patients wait less than six weeks for treatment in the year to April 2026.
Trend
- The proportion seen within six weeks has declined from around 75% in 2019–20 to the current level.
- Referral volumes have risen sharply, from under 1 million per year pre-pandemic to around 1.4 million in 2023–24.
- Recovery rates (proportion moving to recovery on validated measures) have been broadly stable at around 50%.
Context
- NHS Talking Therapies statistics are published monthly by NHS England; they cover NICE-approved psychological therapies for depression and anxiety.
- The six-week access standard replaced an earlier 18-week standard; comparisons before and after the 2012 target change require care.
Commentary contains no editorial judgement — describes direction, magnitude, and official projections only.
About this indicator
- Source
- NHS Digital
- Update frequency
- Monthly
- Last updated
- 20 June 2026
- Licence
- OGL v3
- Direction
- ↓ Falling
Statistics
- Latest
- 88 days
- Period high
- 90 days
- Period low
- 88 days
- Period average
- 89 days