The NHS England Waitlist Search
NHS England waiting times vary significantly by region. We analysed data from 150 NHS England Trusts. Search yours to see the backlog for your specific treatment.
Source: WeCovr.com analysis of NHS England Referral to Treatment (RTT) data, 92nd percentile waiting times across all reporting trusts.NHS England Trust Wait Map
Every marker represents an NHS England trust. Colors reflect the latest wait time for Trauma and Orthopaedic, with larger bubbles indicating longer delays.
NHS England Waiting Times Report
Updated 18 March 2026. Comparison scope: acute trusts only. Source stack: NHS England RTT treatment and trust-level waiting-time data used on this page.
The 2026 Waiting List Report: State of the Nation
Latest Update (18 March 2026): The latest NHS England RTT data shows improvement in some areas, but the national picture still hides severe local bottlenecks. Your postcode continues to dictate how long you wait.
The overall backlog is shifting rather than disappearing. In the current data, the longest routine wait is 67.2 weeks at Mid And South Essex for Trauma and Orthopaedic.
34.9w
Average specialty wait (latest dataset).
67.2w
Longest wait in the current dataset.
43.1w
Average ENT wait (Ear, Nose & Throat).
WeCovr NHS England Waiting Index
Index of overall wait pressure (100 = 30 weeks average). Updated 18 March 2026.
116
Current WeCovr NHS England Waiting Index (overall waiting‑time index)
Before vs After: Specialty Waits
July 2024 → January 2026, plotted side by side per specialty.
Heatmap: Specialty Waits Over Time
Darker colors indicate longer waits by month.
Small Multiples: Specialty Micro‑Trends
Each mini‑chart tracks the national average wait over time.
General Surgery
July 2024: 46.1w → January 2026: 40.1wUrology
July 2024: 43.8w → January 2026: 38.3wTrauma and Orthopaedic
July 2024: 46.8w → January 2026: 42.1wEar Nose and Throat
July 2024: 45.7w → January 2026: 43.1wOphthalmology
July 2024: 38.0w → January 2026: 34.4wOral Surgery
July 2024: 45.5w → January 2026: 43.3wNeurosurgical
July 2024: 45.2w → January 2026: 39.6wPlastic Surgery
July 2024: 45.2w → January 2026: 40.1wGeneral Internal Medicine
July 2024: 32.4w → January 2026: 24.5wGastroenterology
July 2024: 39.0w → January 2026: 35.3wCardiology
July 2024: 37.4w → January 2026: 34.6wDermatology
July 2024: 37.4w → January 2026: 37.1wRespiratory Medicine
July 2024: 35.3w → January 2026: 31.2wNeurology
July 2024: 38.3w → January 2026: 35.6wRheumatology
July 2024: 29.2w → January 2026: 28.7wElderly Medicine
July 2024: 22.4w → January 2026: 19.2wGynaecology
July 2024: 45.4w → January 2026: 41.9wOther - Medicals
July 2024: 36.3w → January 2026: 35.3wOther - Paediatrics
July 2024: 39.4w → January 2026: 36.2wOther - Surgicals
July 2024: 42.3w → January 2026: 36.7wOther - Others
July 2024: 31.3w → January 2026: 30.0wCardiothoracic Surgery
July 2024: 36.3w → January 2026: 29.5wOther - Mental Healths
July 2024: 28.5w → January 2026: 24.9wKey Insights From the Latest Data
A few striking patterns stand out across the full time series.
-12.4 pts
Change in the WeCovr NHS England Waiting Index from the first month to the latest.
-3.1 pts
From 119.3 to 116.2.
43.3w
Longest average wait (Oral Surgery) vs shortest (Elderly Medicine).
Government Pledge Tracker (Official + Wait-Time Indicators)
We combine official NHS England waiting‑time figures with trust‑level specialty waits to show both the national picture and local bottlenecks. Period: July 2024 → January 2026. Official 52+ week share: 3.9% → 1.9%.
-8.2 pts
Change in the WeCovr NHS England Waiting Index (higher = worse).
-2.5w
Mean of specialty averages.
-7.5 pts
Share of trust-specialty entries at 52+ weeks.
-3.9w
Change in longest wait recorded.
Biggest Worsening Specialties
- 🔴 Other - Mental Healths
+5.6w (19.3w → 24.9w)
- 🔴 Rheumatology
+1.2w (27.5w → 28.7w)
Biggest Improving Specialties
- 🟢 General Surgery
-5.3w (45.4w → 40.1w)
- 🟢 Neurology
-5.1w (40.7w → 35.6w)
- 🟢 Plastic Surgery
-4.9w (45.0w → 40.1w)
March 2026 Interim Target Check
Built from official RTT treatment data and the November 2024 planning-guidance baseline. Period: Jul-24 → Jan-26.
60.6%
Target: 65.0% by March 2026. Simple projection: 60.9%.
23 / 150
Trusts currently meeting both March 2026 expectations: at least 60% within 18 weeks and up at least 5 points versus November 2024.
1.95%
Target: below 1.00% by March 2026. Simple projection: 1.67%.
Compliance Breakdown
- Trusts at or above 60%: 93 / 150
- Trusts up at least 5 points versus Nov 2024: 33 / 150
- Trusts meeting both tests: 23 / 150
Scope Notes
- The official over-52 target is a pathway-share target. The longest-wait service-line examples elsewhere on the page are illustrative examples, not that official denominator.
- The first-appointment 72% / 67% target is not assessed here because the correct first-appointment dataset is not currently in this page’s source stack.
- Projection lines are simple straight-line continuations from November 2024 to the latest published month and do not adjust for seasonality.
88 → 27
Count of trusts with at least one 52+ week specialty wait.
Longest long‑wait time: 71.1w → 67.2w.
Lower‑end long‑wait time (10th percentile): 20.0w → 19.3w.
Interim Target Reality Check
The blunt truths from the published RTT treatment data, using only the interim targets we can directly audit.
- National treatment performance remains below the 65% interim target.
60.6% in January 2026.
- Some trusts are meeting the combined 60% + 5-point test, but most are not.
23/150 matched trusts meet both March 2026 trust expectations.
- The official 52+ week pathway-share target is still not met.
1.95% of waits are still over 52 weeks in January 2026.
Top 5 Longest Waits By Specialty (Latest vs Baseline)
- Trauma and Orthopaedic: 65.9w → 67.2w
Worst trust: Mid And South Essex
- Oral Surgery: 71.1w → 63.9w
Worst trust: Mid And South Essex
- Other - Paediatrics: 61.3w → 58.3w
Worst trust: Mid And South Essex
- General Surgery: 65.7w → 57.6w
Worst trust: Chesterfield Royal Hospital
- Plastic Surgery: 66.1w → 56.5w
Worst trust: Whittington Health
Trust Spotlight: Longest Waits Right Now
The five longest waits in the latest dataset, by trust and specialty, using acute trusts only.
67.2 weeks
Trauma and Orthopaedic
Mid And South Essex
63.9 weeks
Oral Surgery
Mid And South Essex
58.3 weeks
Other - Paediatrics
Mid And South Essex
57.6 weeks
General Surgery
Chesterfield Royal Hospital
56.5 weeks
Plastic Surgery
Whittington Health
1. The "Hidden" Crisis: When Averages Lie
The latest official data shows improvements in some parts of the country, but the gains are not evenly distributed.
While the national average improves, specific "red zones" are seeing waits get worse. The national drop masks deep regional inequalities—creating a two-tier system within the NHS itself.
The ENT Anomaly
Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) services remain a critical bottleneck. In the latest data, the worst ENT wait hits 55.5 weeks.
Why this matters: This list is heavily populated by children waiting for tonsillectomies or grommets for "glue ear." A 15-month wait for a 4-year-old represents 30% of their life spent with hearing difficulties or chronic infections, impacting speech development and education.
55.5 Weeks
Peak ENT Wait2. The Great North-South Divide (It's Not What You Think)
The traditional narrative of a "wealthy South" having better healthcare does not hold up to the current data. In fact, the new "Waiting List Capital" of England appears to be Essex, which now accounts for three of the five longest specialty waits in the country (Orthopaedics, Oral Surgery, and Dermatology).
Best Performers
- Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust
21.8 weeks for Orthopaedics
- Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
17.6 weeks for General Surgery
Critical Delays
- University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
51.7 weeks for Orthopaedics
- The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust
49.7 weeks for General Surgery
WeCovr Interim NHS Target Scorecard
WeCovr’s analysis gives a data-led overview of the March 2026 elective care targets, separating official RTT pathway metrics from the smaller subset of service lines with published numeric 92nd percentile waits.
60.58%
National treatment performance remains 4.42% below the 65% target.
23 / 150
Trusts meeting both interim tests
93 are already at least 60%. 33 have improved by 5 points from November 2024.
2405
Trust-specialty lines in the source
2301 have a reported numeric 92nd percentile wait, so wait-based rankings use that reported subset.
40
Published waits above one year
This count only covers trust-specialty lines where NHS publishes a numeric wait time. The official national target uses a different measure: the share of all waits over 52 weeks.
60.58% against a 65% target
National 18-week performance in January 2026 is 60.58%, still 4.42% below the government’s 65% goal. Since July 2024, performance has moved by 2.67%.
From July 2024 to January 2026
National treatment performance against the March 2026 interim target.
WeCovr’s analysis shows that across 2405 trust-specialty service lines in the latest RTT dataset, 2301 have a reported numeric 92nd percentile waiting time. NHS does not publish that wait metric for every service line, so wait-based rankings use the reported subset.
WeCovr March 2026 interim target scorecard
Every row below is grounded in WeCovr’s analysis of the current RTT treatment dataset. Where we do not have the correct source metric, the row is explicitly removed from analysis.
| Target | Latest published | Target level | Projection / status |
|---|---|---|---|
| National treatment performance within 18 weeks | 60.6% | 65.0% by Mar 2026 | Projected 60.9% by Mar 2026 if the Nov 2024 to January 2026 pace continued |
| Trusts at least 60% and up 5 points vs Nov 2024 | 23/150 trusts currently meet both tests | Every trust to reach both tests | 93/150 are at least 60%; 33/150 are up 5 points |
| Share of waits over 52 weeks | 1.95% | <1.00% by Mar 2026 | Projected 1.67% by Mar 2026 if the Nov 2024 to January 2026 pace continued |
| Wait for first appointment within 18 weeks | Not assessed in this dataset | 72.0% nationally and 67.0% minimum per provider | Removed from analysis until the correct first-appointment dataset is available |
Trauma and Orthopaedic: best versus worst trust
WeCovr’s analysis uses a single-specialty comparison to show how far apart patient experience can be for the same type of care. The dashed orange line marks the 65% interim target for treatment within 18 weeks.
Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust
85.3% within 18 weeks • 92nd percentile wait 21.8 weeks
University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
25.5% within 18 weeks • 92nd percentile wait 51.7 weeks
Best and worst trusts by high-impact specialty
WeCovr’s comparison highlights the strongest and weakest performers side by side in high-impact specialties. For surgical specialties, community and mental health trusts are excluded so acute hospital providers are compared like with like. Trusts with 'Healthcare' in the name are not removed automatically, because some are acute hospital groups.
Trauma and Orthopaedic
Best 5
- 1Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust
85.3% within 18 weeks • 92nd percentile wait 21.8 weeks
- 2Whittington Health NHS Trust
81.7% within 18 weeks • 92nd percentile wait 26.1 weeks
- 3County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust
81.2% within 18 weeks • 92nd percentile wait 28.0 weeks
- 4South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust
80.4% within 18 weeks • 92nd percentile wait 25.1 weeks
- 5University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
79.2% within 18 weeks • 92nd percentile wait 28.2 weeks
Worst 5
- 1University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
25.5% within 18 weeks • 92nd percentile wait 51.7 weeks
- 2Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust
36.8% within 18 weeks • 92nd percentile wait 67.2 weeks
- 3Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
41.4% within 18 weeks • 92nd percentile wait 47.7 weeks
- 4Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
41.4% within 18 weeks • 92nd percentile wait 45.2 weeks
- 5Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
41.7% within 18 weeks • 92nd percentile wait 45.8 weeks
Gynaecology
Best 5
- 1The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
94.2% within 18 weeks • 92nd percentile wait 16.6 weeks
- 2The Christie NHS Foundation Trust
93.3% within 18 weeks • 92nd percentile wait 16.4 weeks
- 3South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust
84.2% within 18 weeks • 92nd percentile wait 24.1 weeks
- 4Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
82.2% within 18 weeks • 92nd percentile wait 25.9 weeks
- 5Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
81.6% within 18 weeks • 92nd percentile wait 26.0 weeks
Worst 5
- 1Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
39.3% within 18 weeks • 92nd percentile wait 44.8 weeks
- 2University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
44.8% within 18 weeks • 92nd percentile wait 49.5 weeks
- 3Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust
44.8% within 18 weeks • 92nd percentile wait 44.0 weeks
- 4East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust
45.7% within 18 weeks • 92nd percentile wait 46.1 weeks
- 5Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
45.9% within 18 weeks • 92nd percentile wait 52.2 weeks
General Surgery
Best 5
- 1Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
93.3% within 18 weeks • 92nd percentile wait 17.6 weeks
- 2The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust
92.4% within 18 weeks • 92nd percentile wait 16.8 weeks
- 3Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust
91.3% within 18 weeks • 92nd percentile wait 18.6 weeks
- 4University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust
90.2% within 18 weeks • 92nd percentile wait 20.7 weeks
- 5Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
89.0% within 18 weeks • 92nd percentile wait 21.5 weeks
Worst 5
- 1The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust
25.1% within 18 weeks • 92nd percentile wait 49.7 weeks
- 2South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust
34.7% within 18 weeks • 92nd percentile wait 50.4 weeks
- 3University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust
34.8% within 18 weeks • 92nd percentile wait 50.5 weeks
- 4Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
35.6% within 18 weeks • 92nd percentile wait 47.6 weeks
- 5Kingston and Richmond NHS Foundation Trust
37.3% within 18 weeks • 92nd percentile wait 43.4 weeks
Longest and shortest reported 92nd percentile waits
WeCovr’s examples come only from trust-specialty lines with a published numeric wait time. They show both ends of the published-wait range, but the official national target is measured differently: as the share of all waits over 52 weeks. For surgical specialties, community and mental health trusts are excluded so acute hospital providers are compared like with like. Trusts with 'Healthcare' in the name are not removed automatically, because some are acute hospital groups.
Worst performing service lines (longest waits)
Source: WeCovr.com analysis of NHS data.Best performing service lines (shortest waits)
Source: WeCovr.com analysis of NHS data.Worst-performing examples
- 1Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust — Trauma and Orthopaedic
92nd percentile wait 67.2 weeks • 36.8% within 18 weeks
- 2Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust — Oral Surgery
92nd percentile wait 63.9 weeks • 31.3% within 18 weeks
- 3Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust — Other - Paediatrics
92nd percentile wait 58.3 weeks • 39.9% within 18 weeks
- 4Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust — General Surgery
92nd percentile wait 57.6 weeks • 45.6% within 18 weeks
- 5Whittington Health NHS Trust — Plastic Surgery
92nd percentile wait 56.5 weeks • 26.6% within 18 weeks
- 6James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust — Ear Nose and Throat
92nd percentile wait 55.5 weeks • 34.7% within 18 weeks
Best-performing examples
- 1University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust — General Internal Medicine
92nd percentile wait 7.7 weeks • 100.0% within 18 weeks
- 2Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust — Other - Surgicals
92nd percentile wait 7.8 weeks • 98.8% within 18 weeks
- 3North Bristol NHS Trust — Cardiothoracic Surgery
92nd percentile wait 8.2 weeks • 100.0% within 18 weeks
- 4London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust — Elderly Medicine
92nd percentile wait 8.3 weeks • 100.0% within 18 weeks
- 5Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust — Rheumatology
92nd percentile wait 8.5 weeks • 98.3% within 18 weeks
- 6St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust — Elderly Medicine
92nd percentile wait 8.5 weeks • 100.0% within 18 weeks
Want The Trust-By-Trust Proof?
For the granular view, see every hospital trust ranked against the latest RTT requirements, including who meets 60%, who improved by 5 points, and who is already at 65%.
View The Full Trust Target Audit3. The "52-Week Club"
The government notes that more patients are being treated within 18 weeks. But the tail of the waiting list remains long. Across 2,405 trust-specialty service lines in the latest NHS RTT dataset, 2,301 have a reported numeric 92nd percentile waiting time. NHS does not publish that wait metric for every service line, so wait-based rankings use the reported subset. Within that reported subset, 40 service lines (about 1.7%) still have a 92nd‑percentile wait above 52 weeks.
This includes high-volume specialties like Oral Surgery (tooth extractions, jaw surgery) and Gynaecology. For women suffering from endometriosis or fibroids, a 54-week wait (seen in some trusts) means over a year of chronic pain and potential fertility impact before treatment even begins.
4. The Silent Crisis in Women's Health
Perhaps the most concerning trend in the dataset is the deterioration of Gynaecology services. The national average wait for routine gynaecological surgery is now 41.6 weeks.
The Gender Health Gap
In specific trusts like Liverpool Women's and Blackpool, women are waiting over 54 weeks for treatment (54.2 weeks and 54.1 weeks respectively). For conditions like endometriosis or fibroids, which cause debilitating daily pain and can impact fertility, a year-long wait is not just an inconvenience—it is a life-altering delay.
54.2 Weeks
Peak Gynae Wait5. The "Dental" Gap
When patients hear "Oral Surgery," they often assume it is a dentistry issue. In reality, this covers complex hospital procedures like impacted wisdom tooth removal, cyst removal, and jaw surgery.
The data shows that Oral Surgery has a high national median wait. Patients at Mid and South Essex are now waiting over 62 weeks for oral surgery. This suggests a systemic failure where the collapse of NHS dentistry is spilling over into hospital surgical lists.
6. National Trend: A Mixed Bag
National averages are moving in different directions. Oral Surgery (+0.4 weeks), Ophthalmology (+0.3 weeks), and Neurosurgery (+0.6 weeks) have all worsened, while Trauma & Orthopaedics improved slightly (-0.2 weeks). Yet the Essex outlier grew worse, showing the postcode lottery is widening even when averages stabilize.
7. The Extreme Spectrum: Best vs. Worst
The NHS press release highlights the hard work of staff in reducing lists. Our analysis confirms that many trusts are delivering exceptional performance—treating patients in weeks rather than months.
However, this efficiency highlights a stark "Postcode Lottery." A patient's wait time can vary by over a year depending solely on which hospital they are referred to. Below, we recognise the Top Performing Trusts in England alongside the most critical bottlenecks.
Royal Berkshire
Top Performing Trust in England (Orthopaedics )
21.8w
67.2w
The Royal Marsden
Top Performing Trust in England (General Surgery )
16.8w
57.6w
The Christie
Top Performing Trust in England (Plastic Surgery)
11.8w
56.5w
North Bristol
Top Performing Trust in England (Cardiothoracic Surgery)
8.2w
52.3w
Mersey And West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals
Top Performing Trust in England (Neurosurgical)
30.2w
49.7w
Imperial College Healthcare
Top Performing Trust in England (Oral Surgery )
18.7w
63.9w
8. England's Longest Published Waits
These are the longest published 92nd percentile waits in the latest RTT data, using acute trusts only for trust-vs-trust comparisons.
- #1
Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust
Trauma and Orthopaedic
Wait67.2w
- #2
Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust
Oral Surgery
Wait63.9w
- #3
Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust
Other - Paediatrics
Wait58.3w
- #4
Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
General Surgery
Wait57.6w
- #5
Whittington Health NHS Trust
Plastic Surgery
Wait56.5w
9. The "Hidden" Failures
While larger hospitals often get the headlines, our data analysis identified severe delays in unexpected places. Chesterfield Royal Hospital has the worst wait for General Surgery in the country (57.6 weeks). Milton Keynes remains one of the worst bottlenecks for Gynaecology delays (53.8 weeks).
This underscores why checking your specific local trust is vital. You cannot assume a "good" hospital is good for everything. A trust might be excellent at Cardiac care but failing in Orthopaedics.
10. It's Not All Bad News
While the headlines focus on record demand, the data highlights that the NHS can still deliver speed in the right areas. Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust is delivering Orthopaedic care in about 21.8 weeks, far faster than the worst bottlenecks in the current comparison set.
This variance proves that the "National Backlog" is not a monolith. It is a series of local bottlenecks. If you have the flexibility to choose your provider (exercising your "Right to Choose") or the means to use private insurance to access under-utilised capacity, you can bypass the crisis entirely.
Is there an alternative?
The private sector currently has capacity. For procedures like Cataracts, Hernias, and Hip Replacements, wait times are typically measured in days, not months. While self-pay is expensive, health insurance provides a structured way to bypass these local bottlenecks for new conditions.
Compare Health Insurance QuotesEmbed This Visual
You can embed this live "Postcode Lottery" visual on your site using the HTML snippet below.
NHS wait vs private cost map guide for UK patients
WeCovr's NHS wait vs private cost map helps UK patients compare delays and private options, using indicative information prepared by WeCovr, an FCA-authorised insurance broking firm with over 900,000 policies issued across multiple classes of insurance. WeCovr also supports private medical insurance UK planning, while this guide explains the data.
What this NHS wait map shows
The map compares NHS wait times by trust and specialty, alongside indicative private costs.
It uses published averages and is a guide only, not a quote or guarantee.
Highlights long NHS waits by specialty.
Estimates private treatment costs.
Supports planning for faster access.
Why waits vary by region
Capacity, demand, and staffing levels can create large differences in waiting times across trusts.
Why WeCovr supports faster access
WeCovr is an FCA-authorised insurance broking firm and has high customer satisfaction ratings. We also offer complimentary access to the CalorieHero AI calorie tracking app and discounts when customers take PMI or Life insurance. If you are comparing private medical insurance UK options, we can help you access private health cover through a trusted PMI broker.
Data sources and guidance references
This guide references NHS waiting time data and UK private healthcare pricing benchmarks.
NHS vs private considerations
| Factor | NHS | Private | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wait times | Longer | Faster | Varies by region |
| Cost | No fee at point | Out-of-pocket | PMI can help |
| Choice | Limited | More flexible | Depends on provider |
Related WeCovr resources
FAQs
Is this a private treatment quote?
No. It provides indicative costs only and should be confirmed with providers.
Are NHS wait times always accurate?
No. Wait times are averages and can change over time.
Does PMI guarantee no wait?
No. Policies vary and some waits may still apply.
Is this medical advice?
No. It is an informational guide only.
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