October 2026 NACR Quarterly Report on Wait Time to Start of Core CR

Method: Run using the October 2026 data download covering April to June 2026. Patient records were included where the patient started Core1 rehabilitation during the reporting period. Programme-level results are presented where sufficient data were available, defined as more than 10 Core rehabilitation records. Patients are assigned to the programme where Core CR was delivered.

Results: This report shows the time between post-discharge referral and the start of Core CR. Wait times are presented for MI and/or PCI, CABG, heart failure and ’All other patient groups’. The MI and/or PCI and CABG measures are included as key performance indicators (KPIs) within the National Certification Programme for Cardiac Rehabilitation (NCP_CR).

Despite an overall increase in Green certification status in this year’s NCP_CR report, wait time for MI and/or PCI was the least frequently achieved KPI, with 25% of programmes not meeting the metric. The programme-level results below demonstrate both variation between services and by patient group within individual services.

There were 178 programmes with patients starting CR during the reporting period. Five programmes had insufficient patient numbers and were not reported. Across the 173 programmes with sufficient data, the national average wait time from referral to start for all patients was 20 days. The average wait was lowest for patients with MI and/or PCI, at 18 days, and highest for patients following CABG, at 26 days. Average waits were 22 days for patients with heart failure and 24 days for all other patient groups. Programme-level variation was substantial. Overall, 76 programmes had an average wait of less than 20 days, while 97 programmes had an average wait at or above 20 days. Twenty-one programmes reported an average wait of 40 days or more. There were also notable differences by patient group. In 46 programmes, the average CABG wait was shorter than the average wait for patients with MI and/or PCI. This may reflect effective referral processes within post-surgical pathways. Additional discussions with some services highlighted they were starting CABG patients on hybrid programmes before commencing the exercise component later in the CR pathway. NACR will explore this further, through reports, by examining inpatient stay, the time from discharge to referral, and when the exercise component begins for patients following CABG.

1 Throughout this report, “Core” refers to Core or Phase 3 records.
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