A handful of trusts have already got to where they need to be by next March - as long as they can keep their waiting lists down.

Mersey and West Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust had more than 48,000 patients waiting less than 18 weeks so far for treatment, 64.2% of the total, in April. That is up from 58.7% in November.

East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust also reached 60.1% in April, up from 54.9% in November.

The biggest target for improvement was set for The Princess Alexandra Hospital Trust in Harlow, according to our analysis. In November, 41.8% of its patients were waiting less than 18 weeks. By April, that had risen to about 48.8% - one of the biggest improvements in England so far. But it needs to rise further by more than 11 percentage points by next March.

PAHT chief executive Thom Lafferty said they were "delighted" with their progress.

"We recognise the impact for patients who are waiting for care and we are enhancing integration and collaboration with our partners to ensure that patients can access the right care, in the right place, at the right time."

Some trusts have a higher mountain to climb because their figures have dipped since November.

Mid and South Essex NHS Trust started out with 52.8% of patients waiting less than 18 weeks in November. But when the clock started in April, it had fallen to 47%.

Two of its theatres at Basildon Hospital have been closed for work along with some of the trust's procedure rooms and it has had an increase in referrals.

Chief executive Matthew Hopkins said it was putting on extra clinics and had a new orthopaedic procedure room opening soon, adding: "We are confident we will improve our waiting times and improve patient experience."

Others that have fallen despite requiring large improvements include the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital (RJAH) in Shropshire (down from 48.3% to 44.9%) and Countess of Chester, down from 49.6% to 47.1%.

Cathy Chadwick, chief operating officer for Countess of Chester, said more clinics and investment in new technology would bring down waiting lists and the trust was confident of meeting the target by next March.

A spokesman for RJAH said: "We have a clear ambition to hit the target of 60% by March 2026, and are confident that the plans we have put in place will enable us to do so."

Targets in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are different and the interim targets for next March set by the UK government do not apply.

However, the NHS is not meeting the waiting time targets in any nation.

While Scotland aims for 90% of patients to be treated within 18 weeks of referral, in Wales the target is for 95% of patients to wait less than 26 weeks.

In Northern Ireland, 55% of patients should wait no longer than 13 weeks for day case or inpatient treatment.