Waiting List Conference: From Backlog to Breakthrough

We’re excited to announce the NHS Waiting List Conference, taking place on 10–11 June 2026 — a landmark event dedicated to one of the NHS’s most complex and urgent challenges: elective care waiting lists.

With waiting lists in England now exceeding 7 million, the impact on patients, staff, and the wider economy is impossible to ignore. The government has set ambitious targets to cut waiting times — but it’s clear that traditional approaches alone won’t be enough.

That’s why our theme, From Backlog to Breakthrough, is more than just a slogan — it’s a shared call to action. Waiting lists are what systems thinkers call  a wicked problem: a complex, adaptive challenge that resists simple solutions and demands new ways of thinking,  learning, and innovating together.

A Systems Approach

Throughout the conference, we’ll explore practical ways to make progress on challenges that don’t have easy answers. Our sessions will draw on proven principles for understanding and addressing complexity:

  • Understanding the system – exploring the causes, consequences, and connections that shape waiting lists across the NHS.
  • Engaging diverse voices – ensuring everyone, from patients and frontline staff to national leaders, is part of the conversation.
  • Reframing assumptions – challenging long-held narratives and seeing the problem through fresh lenses informed by a diverse mix of methods — from qualitative research and behaviour insights to advanced analytics, simulation modelling, health economics, and systems thinking.
  • Experimenting and learning – sharing prototypes, pilots, and case studies that have achieved real-world impact, including novel models of care and AI-based innovations.
  • Adapting and iterating – focusing on agility, feedback, and continuous improvement rather than one-off solutions.
  • Tackling root causes – going beyond surface symptoms to address the deeper structural, behavioural, and cultural drivers of long waits.

Why Now?

The urgency couldn’t be greater. NHS waiting lists continue to grow — and an increasing number of patients are turning to private healthcare for faster access. In 2024 alone, UK private hospitals recorded record admissions, with self-pay treatments remaining well above pre-pandemic levels. The message is clear: system-wide reform and innovation can’t wait.

Hosted by The Strategy Unit in partnership with Health Data Research UK (HDRUK), the conference will also mark the launch of the Waiting Intelligence Network (WIN) — to share learning, scale innovation, and accelerate system-wide change.

What to Expect

  • Groundbreaking insights from leading thinkers and practitioners
  • Practical tools and models for real-world transformation
  • Cross-sector collaboration and networking opportunities
  • A shared commitment to improving patient experience and NHS performance

Our two-day, in-person conference will be complemented by a series of focused e-labs in the weeks leading up to the event — including training sessions, international perspectives, and thematic seminars designed to deepen learning and spark new ideas.

🗓️ Event Details & Participation

  • This is an in-person event.
  • Places are limited, with priority given to NHS and social care staff.
  • To join an expression of interest list, click here.

Call for abstracts

Our call for abstracts will run from 4 December 2025 and close on 2 March 2026. Complete abstracts submitted will not be editable but if you require changes, please write to us at Learn@hdruk.ac.uk. Abstracts are accepted in English.

Submit an abstract

Stay tuned for updates as we announce keynote speakers and the full conference programme. In the meantime, if you have suggestions, ideas, or contributions that align with the conference or upcoming e-labs, we’d love to hear from you — please get in touch.

Join the expression of interest list and save the date

Contact Us

Let’s move from backlog to breakthrough — together.