According to NHS data, 100,000 more treatments were delivered in March compared to the same month last year. A quarter of a million fewer people waited longer than 18 weeks for care.

NHS staff carried out 1.5 million treatments in one month and 3.6 million additional appointments since July 2024.

It was also the busiest March ever for the number of tests and checks carried out for patients with community diagnostic hubs, delivering almost 2.5 million checks – an extra half a million diagnostic tests compared to the same month in 2019, up a quarter.

Professor Sir Stephen Powis, NHS England’s national medical director, said: “The scale of demand that our frontline NHS teams are managing is enormous – today’s figures show that each month, they are having to not only deal with an historic backlog, but they are also working to keep up with the hundreds of thousands of new patients that need our care.

“In March, we saw a particularly sharp rise in referrals – yet staff still managed to deliver more for patients with 100,000 more treatments delivered and thousands more getting a timely diagnosis for cancer.

“It is a good thing that more people are coming forward for care – and I would urge anyone who has health concerns to come forward and get checked out as soon as they can.

“While huge pressure on services remain, these figures show that the Elective care reform plan is bearing fruit for patients across the country with the NHS already reforming to work in new ways to deliver for patients”.

Health and social care secretary Wes Streeting said: “Since day 1, we have been clear it will take time to reverse the disastrous waiting list we inherited. But since July, real progress has been made – including over winter. We have overseen a massive increase in appointments available to meet rising demand, reduced long waits and helped people get diagnosed quicker.

“Thanks to the hard work of NHS staff, we have now delivered more than 3.6 million extra appointments, helping hundreds of thousands of people get off the waiting list and get on with their lives.

“Our Plan for Change will continue to put patients first as we work to end the misery felt by millions up and down the country who have been denied the care they need for too long."