How Find Faster Care uses published data
England and Scotland use different public datasets and standards. Find Faster Care keeps them separate and labels them clearly.
England methodology
NHS England RTT data
England results use published NHS England referral-to-treatment (RTT) waiting-time data at provider and specialty level. The 18-week RTT standard from the NHS Constitution is used as a contextual benchmark.
The displayed wait figure (labelled "median weeks") for each provider-specialty combination is the median waiting time in weeks from the published RTT incomplete pathways data. It represents the midpoint of waiting times for patients still on the waiting list at the snapshot date, not a prediction of any individual patient's wait. The percentage shown is the proportion of patients waiting within the 18-week constitutional standard. Where available, the previous period's median is included for comparison.
- Data is at NHS provider (Trust) level, not individual hospital or treatment site level. One provider may operate multiple hospital sites.
- 13 specialty-level treatment functions are currently included.
- Data is sourced from the monthly RTT publication and refreshed periodically.
- Provider coordinates are sourced from the NHS Organisation Data Service (ODS) and geocoded via Postcodes.io.
- Distances are straight-line estimates to a provider's registered headquarters location, not a specific treatment site or travel route.
Scotland methodology
Public Health Scotland planned care data
Scotland results use Public Health Scotland Stage of Treatment waiting-time data. Scotland has a 12-week Treatment Time Guarantee for eligible inpatient and day case treatment.
- New outpatient appointments.
- Inpatient and day case treatment.
- Ongoing waits only.
- Current data month: April 2026.
- Board-level data — individual hospital waits within a board are not shown.
- All-specialties total only.
- No diagnostics and no postcode matching in Scotland mode.
Known limitations
- Published data is not live hospital availability.
- NHS England RTT data is provider-level aggregate data. A provider may operate more than one hospital or treatment site.
- Provider locations are geocoded from NHS ODS registered addresses and represent organisational headquarters, not every treatment site within a trust.
- The site cannot check clinical suitability or urgency.
- Waiting times can change after publication.
- Data may not show exact waits for a specific procedure or individual patient.
- England and Scotland data cannot be directly compared without understanding their differences.