{
 "path": "/news/ruh-waiting-list-reaches-highest-level-in-two-years",
 "title": "RUH waiting list reaches highest level in two years",
 "description": "The RUH's waiting list has reached 43,165, the highest of the 24 monthly figures, even as the longest waits fall.",
 "canonical": "https://heybath.uk/news/ruh-waiting-list-reaches-highest-level-in-two-years",
 "generated_at": "2026-10-14T01:13:39.359Z",
 "date_modified": "2026-10-13T21:02:06.880Z",
 "data": {
  "piece": {
   "slug": "ruh-waiting-list-reaches-highest-level-in-two-years",
   "path": "/news/ruh-waiting-list-reaches-highest-level-in-two-years",
   "headline": "RUH waiting list reaches highest level in two years",
   "standfirst": "The RUH's waiting list has reached 43,165, the highest of the 24 monthly figures, even as the longest waits fall.",
   "topic": "health",
   "kind": "feature",
   "breaking": false,
   "paragraphs": [
    "The RUH's waiting list reached 43,165 in August 2026, the highest of the 24 monthly figures available. Those figures range from 37,976 to 43,165. The latest figures for planned treatment are for August 2026.",
    "That compares with 39,349 in August 2025 and 41,031 in July 2026, so the list is higher than a year ago and higher than the month before.",
    "Waits of more than 52 weeks fell to 154, compared with 761 a year earlier. Across the series they range from 133 to 1,017.",
    "New waiting periods started at the RUH rose to 10,766 in August, compared with 8,589 a year earlier.",
    "The monthly figures run to August 2026, the latest available. The hospital serves patients beyond Bath and North East Somerset, so the list is not a count of local residents alone. A waiting list counts incomplete pathways, not individual patients. A record total and a fall in very long waits can both be true."
   ],
   "next": "The RUH's waiting times for planned treatment are published by NHS England, and the latest figures cover August 2026.",
   "updates": [],
   "corrections": [],
   "sources": [
    {
     "name": "RUH waiting times for planned treatment (NHS England RTT)",
     "url": "https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/",
     "checked_at": "2026-10-13T21:02:06.880Z"
    }
   ],
   "facts": [
    {
     "id": "f1",
     "text": "The RUH's waiting list reached 43,165 in August 2026, the highest of the 24 monthly figures we hold, which range from 37,976 to 43,165.",
     "source": "RUH waiting times for planned treatment (NHS England RTT)"
    },
    {
     "id": "f2",
     "text": "That compares with 39,349 in August 2025 and 41,031 in July 2026.",
     "source": "RUH waiting times for planned treatment (NHS England RTT)"
    },
    {
     "id": "f3",
     "text": "Waits of more than 52 weeks fell to 154, compared with 761 a year earlier; across the series they range from 133 to 1,017.",
     "source": "RUH waiting times for planned treatment (NHS England RTT)"
    },
    {
     "id": "f4",
     "text": "New waiting periods started at the RUH rose to 10,766 in August, compared with 8,589 a year earlier.",
     "source": "RUH waiting times for planned treatment (NHS England RTT)"
    },
    {
     "id": "f5",
     "text": "RUH waiting times for planned treatment (NHS England RTT): the latest figures are for August 2026.",
     "source": "RUH waiting times for planned treatment (NHS England RTT)"
    },
    {
     "id": "f6",
     "text": "Monthly RUH figures to August 2026, the latest we hold; the hospital serves patients beyond B&NES; a waiting list counts incomplete pathways, not individual patients, so a record total and a fall in very long waits can both be true.",
     "source": "Hey Bath"
    }
   ],
   "author": {
    "name": "Hey Bath Newsdesk",
    "path": "/about#newsdesk"
   },
   "published_at": "2026-10-13T21:02:06.880Z",
   "updated_at": "2026-10-13T21:02:06.880Z",
   "checked_at": "2026-10-13T21:02:06.880Z",
   "written": "Written by Hey Bath from public records with an AI writing tool, then checked against them."
  }
 }
}