NHS Backlog Radar: Visualising the UK’s Healthcare Waiting Crisis

Join the journey here: https://devpost.com/software/nhs-backlog-radar/joins/6BQHK6Q0oeHK62fh6jvANA !!

Millions of patients are waiting for care, yet the data that explains why those waits exist is buried in huge, unreadable spreadsheets. NHS Backlog Radar unlocks that data. It transforms raw NHS waiting list and staffing datasets into clear, interactive insights that show where delays are happening, which services are under pressure, and how small changes could make a real difference.

Built with Python and modern data tools, NHS Backlog Radar focuses on clarity over complexity and insight over noise.

Purpose:

Waiting lists are more than numbers. They represent real people stuck in uncertainty.

This software was built to make the NHS waiting list problem visible, explainable, and actionable. Public data already tells a powerful story, but it is rarely told well. This project brings that story to the surface by showing not just how long people wait, but where systems break down and where improvements could have the biggest impact.

With further development, it could support better planning, smarter resource allocation, and more honest conversations about capacity, demand, and care.

How It Works

Backlog Radar analyses NHS Referral to Treatment data that breaks waiting lists down by provider, specialty, and week by week waiting times.

Instead of relying on a single headline figure, the platform explores the full shape of the waiting list, including long waits that are often hidden. Users can see where backlogs build up, compare services, and explore how changes in staffing or capacity might shift waiting times.

All data is sourced from official NHS datasets and processed during the hackathon to create a working, end-to-end prototype.

Codebase

All code was written during the hackathon and managed through GitHub. The repository contains clean, reproducible data pipelines and analysis notebooks designed to be easy to extend and improve.

Built With

• css
• flask
• html
• javascript
• python