Andrea Innocenti Between January and September 2026, the total number of bookings monitored by the national platform increased from 19,75 to 21,81 million, a 10,4% increase. Despite the increase in appointments offered within the timeframe, delays did not decrease in absolute terms: a total of 4.057.139 bookings exceeded the maximum allowed time.
Increases in volumes and percentages of respect for deadlines
Initial visits increased to 12,27 million (+8,3%) and diagnostic tests to 9,54 million (+13,3%). The share of appointments completed on time increased by 1,7 percentage points, from 76,9% to 78,6% for visits and from 83,3% to 85% for tests. However, of the 2,03 million additional appointments scheduled on time, 81,5% were due to a simple increase in volume, while only 18,5% reflected a genuine improvement in deadline management.
Delays due to urgency priority
Services classified as urgent (maximum 3 days) still show an 18,3% rate of first visits and a 22,7% rate of tests exceeding the threshold. For short-term requests (within 10 days), the percentages worsen further, reaching 19,4% for visits and 21,8% for tests. Deferrable visits (within 30 days) show the highest rate: 26,6% exceed the established limit.
Specialties most affected by delays
Among initial appointments , dermatology and allergology are the most critical, with 30,1% of appointments missed. This is followed by ophthalmology (26,8%) and gastroenterology (26,2%). Regarding diagnostic tests , colonoscopy, electromyography, and gastroscopy exceed 30,7%, 28,1%, and 27,4% of appointment deadlines, respectively.
Urgent colonoscopies
Of the 2.839 urgent colonoscopy appointments monitored, 1.845 (65%) received the first availability after the established three days, highlighting a specific problem of this type.
Regional disparities and data limitations
According to Salutequità's analysis, by September 2026, only Basilicata, Marche, and Lazio exceeded 90% compliance with the deadlines for initial visits, while Basilicata and Veneto reached the threshold for testing. Some regions—Calabria, Campania, Lazio, Molise, Sicily, and Tuscany—showed a deterioration compared to 2025. It is important to note that regional differences may be influenced by variability in the assignment of priority classes , making aggregate comparisons potentially misleading.
ISTAT's 2026 BES Report finds that 9,6% of the population (over 5,6 million people) forwent a necessary visit or test in 2025, with waiting lists being the main reason (6,5%). Regional disparities are marked: Sardinia recorded 19,5% of cancellations, followed by Lazio (12,1%) and Marche (12%).
Limits of current measurement
The PNLA dashboard records the time between contacting the CUP and the first proposed date ( ex ante monitoring ), but does not allow verification of whether the service was actually provided. Without ex post monitoring , which includes the interval between the booking and the actual visit, the data remains partial. Furthermore, in 2025, only 50,3% of prescriptions for visits and 54,4% for tests were translated into bookings, indicating further obstacles that have not yet been quantified.
To obtain a complete picture, it is necessary to link prescriptions, proposed and accepted bookings, and the services actually provided, as well as analyze the reasons why some requests are not translated into bookings. Only in this way can we transparently assess the NHS's actual capacity to meet citizens' needs.