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NHS waiting times by hospital

How long people are waiting for planned hospital treatment in England, for every NHS trust and specialty. NHS England's figures for September 2026, updated every month.

Every trust, A to Z

Source: NHS England, Referral to Treatment waiting times, September 2026 (published November 2026). Next figures expected 10 December 2026.

Find your hospital trust

Type a trust, town or area. 136 NHS trusts in England.

    England, September 2026

    12.2 weeks
    median wait so far

    7,104,965
    waiting

    65.9%
    under 18 weeks

    113,490
    over a year

    Pick a trust to see its figures beside these.

    England, September 2026

    Everyone waiting for consultant-led treatment that isn't urgent, from referral until they're treated. Changes are on September 2025.

    7.10 million

    waiting for treatment

    down 224,609 (3.1%) on a year earlier

    12.2 wk

    median wait so far

    down 1.2 weeks on a year earlier

    65.9%

    waiting under 18 weeks

    The NHS Constitution right is to start treatment within 18 weeks

    113,490

    waiting over a year

    down 68,457 (37.6%) on a year earlier

    7.33m7.10mSeptember 2025September 2026
    People waiting for treatment in England, by monthLowest 7.05m, highest 7.34m. The scale starts near the lowest value.
    The figures
    MonthValue
    September 20257.33m
    October 20257.34m
    November 20257.19m
    December 20257.23m
    January 20267.19m
    February 20267.16m
    March 20267.05m
    April 20267.12m
    May 20267.18m
    June 20267.18m
    July 20267.16m
    August 20267.19m
    September 20267.10m
    13.4 wk12.2 wkSeptember 2025September 2026
    Median wait so far in England, weeksLowest 11.3 wk, highest 13.6 wk. The scale starts near the lowest value.
    The figures
    MonthValue
    September 202513.4 wk
    October 202513.3 wk
    November 202512.9 wk
    December 202513.5 wk
    January 202613.6 wk
    February 202613.2 wk
    March 202611.3 wk
    April 202611.9 wk
    May 202612.4 wk
    June 202611.9 wk
    July 202612.0 wk
    August 202612.2 wk
    September 202612.2 wk

    Waits by specialty

    Half the people on each list have waited longer than its median. Each specialty has its own page with every trust, shortest wait first.

    median wait, in weeks (scale 0 to 40)England's median for the same specialty

    SpecialtyWaitingMedian wait, weeksAgainst England's medianUnder 18 weeksOver a year
    All specialtiesEvery consultant-led specialty together7,104,96512.265.9%113,490
    Trauma and orthopaedicsHip and knee replacements, shoulders, feet, hands and spines837,68513.961.2%21,952
    Eyes (ophthalmology)Cataracts, glaucoma and other eye conditions620,75210.172.8%5,153
    General surgeryHernias, gallbladders and other abdominal operations386,35912.863.9%8,376
    GynaecologyHysterectomies, endometriosis, prolapse and other gynaecology579,84214.160.1%12,974
    Ear, nose and throatTonsils, sinuses, ears and hearing577,76415.357.1%11,516
    UrologyProstate, kidney stones and bladder362,63912.066.0%5,315
    Oral surgeryWisdom teeth and other hospital dental surgery314,17616.154.5%7,619
    Plastic surgeryReconstructive plastic surgery on the NHS, including hands and skin110,02513.760.3%4,021
    NeurosurgeryBrain and spinal surgery53,38413.462.6%830
    DermatologySkin conditions415,74511.168.8%5,711
    CardiologyHeart conditions355,95011.868.9%2,660
    GastroenterologyStomach, bowel and liver conditions353,47410.971.0%3,810

    Waiting for an operation

    A woman at her kitchen table reading a hospital appointment letter
    Illustration

    People admitted for orthopaedic treatment in September 2026, which includes hip and knee replacements, had waited a median of 24.2 weeks from referral. One in 12 had waited more than 56.6 weeks.

    The waiting list counts everyone from referral, including people still waiting for a first appointment. A narrower list counts people whose consultant has already decided to admit them for treatment, usually an operation: 277,290 people in orthopaedics, with a median wait so far of 21.0 weeks. NHS England publishes these figures by specialty, not by operation.

    More on NHS hip replacement waits and knee replacement waits, and what hip and knee replacement costs abroad.

    SpecialtyWaiting to be admittedTheir median wait, weeksAdmitted for treatment this monthHalf had waited over, weeks92% within, weeks
    All specialties1,198,92317.6311,88413.351.9
    Trauma and orthopaedics277,29021.048,60424.256.6
    Eyes (ophthalmology)155,67912.259,75512.336.7
    General surgery115,84420.226,13117.054.4
    Gynaecology84,64023.716,23417.760.7
    Ear, nose and throat73,75123.313,29325.060.0
    Urology74,79816.719,48110.951.1
    Oral surgery55,23523.713,69626.058.1
    Plastic surgery48,28118.713,1349.051.0
    Neurosurgery10,02518.42,40916.051.1
    Dermatology32,89010.611,8987.039.2
    Cardiology34,50014.010,10211.646.7
    Gastroenterology42,7758.116,8684.528.9

    Waits by area

    The 36 NHS integrated care board areas, by where the hospital trust is. Select a column heading to sort.

    AreaWaitingMedian wait, weeks Under 18 weeksOrthopaedics median, weeksOver a year
    Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire132,26212.566.5%13.91,217
    Birmingham and Solihull159,44911.270.0%11.2491
    Black Country222,40912.664.5%12.31,519
    Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire117,16210.670.2%11.5518
    Central East392,79213.163.3%17.05,628
    Cheshire and Merseyside368,61011.967.0%12.54,544
    Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly49,0239.872.5%16.6425
    Coventry and Warwickshire119,56212.763.7%10.02,425
    Derby and Derbyshire133,83813.062.4%17.42,743
    Devon82,67812.464.2%15.21,954
    Dorset92,44212.666.1%17.5992
    Essex312,74414.957.4%18.914,355
    Gloucestershire71,45111.171.2%15.981
    Greater Manchester476,33813.362.4%14.28,402
    Hampshire and Isle of Wight206,56812.763.6%13.94,569
    Herefordshire and Worcestershire92,19513.362.9%17.81,495
    Humber and North Yorkshire223,86814.259.0%13.16,558
    Kent and Medway216,67713.262.6%13.93,850
    Lancashire and South Cumbria217,96111.666.6%11.32,506
    Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland118,05113.462.2%21.02,550
    Lincolnshire71,92512.964.4%12.21,507
    Norfolk and Suffolk155,86512.565.0%16.33,056
    North East London226,25611.767.8%13.12,543
    North East and North Cumbria440,1419.774.3%11.43,659
    Northamptonshire42,29412.267.8%13.4147
    Nottingham and Nottinghamshire41,65311.667.4%12.1530
    Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin72,87312.965.7%15.72,316
    Somerset62,42511.665.6%14.01,798
    South East London268,30111.767.5%13.14,914
    South West London212,42512.067.8%12.02,108
    South Yorkshire129,20011.767.5%15.62,198
    Staffordshire and Stoke-On-Trent91,63711.964.9%12.21,998
    Surrey and Sussex464,31413.062.6%13.611,969
    Thames Valley180,76112.068.0%13.81,837
    West Yorkshire255,35310.670.2%12.82,233
    West and North London583,46211.469.7%13.03,855

    Every NHS trust, A to Z

    136 trusts by area, with the median wait across all specialties. Each page has every specialty, 13 months of figures and the other trusts nearby.

    Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire

    Birmingham and Solihull

    Black Country

    Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire

    Central East

    Cheshire and Merseyside

    Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly

    Coventry and Warwickshire

    Derby and Derbyshire

    Devon

    Dorset

    Essex

    Gloucestershire

    Greater Manchester

    Hampshire and Isle of Wight

    Herefordshire and Worcestershire

    Humber and North Yorkshire

    Kent and Medway

    Lancashire and South Cumbria

    Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland

    Lincolnshire

    Norfolk and Suffolk

    North East London

    North East and North Cumbria

    Northamptonshire

    Nottingham and Nottinghamshire

    Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin

    Somerset

    South East London

    South West London

    South Yorkshire

    Staffordshire and Stoke-On-Trent

    Surrey and Sussex

    Thames Valley

    West Yorkshire

    West and North London

    Use these figures

    Free to quote and reuse, for journalists, researchers and AI agents. Please credit "Thera Travel, from NHS England data" and link to theratravel.co.uk/nhs-waiting-times. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: NHS England, Consultant-led Referral to Treatment Waiting Times. Open Government Licence v3.0.

    Source: NHS England, Referral to Treatment waiting times, September 2026 (published November 2026). Next figures expected 10 December 2026. Journalists: press page.

    How these figures work

    The figures are NHS England's referral-to-treatment (RTT) statistics for September 2026, published in November 2026: everyone waiting at the end of the month for consultant-led treatment that isn't urgent, counted from the day they were referred. We read NHS England's full monthly extract, which counts every trust, specialty and week of waiting, and add it up by trust, specialty and area.

    • Waiting: incomplete pathways, the number on the list. One person can be on more than one list.
    • Median wait: half the list has waited longer than this so far. It is worked out within each week of waiting, the way NHS England works out its own medians, from pathways with a known start date. The 92nd percentile is worked out the same way.
    • Under 18 weeks: the share of the list that has waited less than 18 weeks. The NHS Constitution gives patients in England the right to start consultant-led treatment within a maximum of 18 weeks from referral for non-urgent conditions.
    • Waiting to be admitted: people whose consultant has decided to admit them for treatment, usually an operation.
    • Admitted for treatment this month: people whose wait ended with admission to hospital that month, and how long they had waited.
    • Area: the NHS integrated care board the trust belongs to. A trust treats people from other areas too.

    NHS England's headline totals also add estimates for trusts that didn't send figures; we show reported figures only, so totals can differ slightly from its press release. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland publish their own waiting times and aren't included. Independent hospitals that treat NHS patients are in the specialty pages and the downloads.

    This page was built from the extract fetched on 2026-11-13. These are figures, not advice: ask your GP or the hospital about your own wait.

    Questions

    How long is the NHS waiting list?

    At the end of September 2026, 7,104,965 referrals were waiting for consultant-led treatment in England (one person can be on more than one list). Half had waited more than 12.2 weeks, 65.9% had waited under 18 weeks and 113,490 had waited over a year. Source: NHS England.

    How long is the wait for a hip or knee replacement?

    NHS England publishes waits by specialty, not by operation. In trauma and orthopaedics, which includes hip and knee replacements, people admitted for treatment in September 2026 had waited a median of 24.2 weeks from referral, and 92% within 56.6 weeks. Waits differ a lot between trusts: see the orthopaedics page.

    How do I find the waiting time at my hospital?

    Use the search at the top of this page: type your trust, town or area and pick a specialty. Every NHS trust in England has its own page with each specialty and 13 months of figures.

    Can I choose a hospital with a shorter wait?

    The NHS says you should be offered a choice at the point of referral, and in many cases you can choose the hospital or service you go to, including some independent hospitals that treat NHS patients. See the NHS page "Your choices in the NHS" and ask your GP.

    What does the 18-week rule mean?

    The NHS Constitution gives patients in England the right to start consultant-led treatment within a maximum of 18 weeks from referral for non-urgent conditions. In September 2026, 65.9% of people waiting had waited less than 18 weeks.

    Does this cover Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?

    No. These are NHS England's figures. Public Health Scotland, the Welsh Government and the Department of Health in Northern Ireland publish their own waiting times.

    How often is this updated?

    Monthly, when NHS England publishes new figures, usually on the second Thursday of the month. The next figures are expected on 10 December 2026.

    Can I use these figures?

    Yes, free, with a credit to Thera Travel and a link to this page. They are also available as JSON, CSV and Markdown.

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