The health secretary invited ministers from the devolved administrations to discuss different approaches taken to address the record backlogs.
The Department of Health and Social Care said that there were "significant variations" in NHS waiting times between the four UK nations. Barclay even suggested Wales and Scotland had worse NHS delays than England in some areas, which both devolved administrations robustly disputed.
"In Wales, more than 73,000 people are waiting over 77 weeks for treatment, and at least 21,600 people are waiting over 78 weeks for an outpatient, day case or inpatient appointment in Scotland," the DHSC said in a statement.
"In England, waiting times for patients over 78 weeks have been virtually eliminated."
On Thursday, new figures revealed a record 7.57 million people in England were waiting for NHS treatment in June, with two in five patients waiting more than 18 weeks to be seen.
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