At a glance: 12,372 people were waiting for NHS treatment at Airedale in June 2026, spread across 13 specialties, and 63 of them had already waited more than a year. The hardest specialty to be seen quickly was gynaecology — only 60% of patients seen within the 18-week target and a median wait of 14 weeks — while plastic surgery was quickest at 88%.
Treatment waiting times at Airedale
| Specialty | People waiting | Seen within 18 weeks | Waiting over a year | Median wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gynaecology | 1,691 | 60% | 8 | 14 weeks |
| Respiratory medicine | 646 | 62% | 0 | 11 weeks |
| Trauma & orthopaedics | 1,421 | 64% | 18 | 11 weeks |
| ENT | 1,273 | 65% | 0 | 12 weeks |
| Oral surgery | 445 | 68% | 3 | 11 weeks |
| Rheumatology | 397 | 71% | 0 | 9 weeks |
| Neurology | 964 | 71% | 2 | 11 weeks |
| General surgery | 1,570 | 72% | 26 | 8 weeks |
| Urology | 913 | 74% | 5 | 9 weeks |
| Gastroenterology | 764 | 75% | 1 | 9 weeks |
| Cardiology | 1,699 | 77% | 0 | 9 weeks |
| Ophthalmology | 530 | 78% | 0 | 7 weeks |
| Plastic surgery | 59 | 88% | 0 | 4 weeks |
Diagnostic test waiting times at Airedale
| Test | People waiting | Waiting beyond 6 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Flexible sigmoidoscopy | 71 | 31% |
| Colonoscopy | 317 | 26% |
| Gastroscopy | 206 | 14% |
| Audiology | 387 | 4% |
| MRI | 691 | 3% |
| Cystoscopy | 109 | 3% |
| CT | 262 | 1% |
| Ultrasound | 1,377 | 1% |
| Echocardiography | 274 | 1% |
| DEXA scan | 194 | 0% |
| Nerve conduction studies | 77 | 0% |
| Sleep studies | 75 | 0% |
The six-week point is where the NHS counts a diagnostic wait as a breach; at Airedale the longest was flexible sigmoidoscopy, with 31% past it and 71 people in the queue.
Skip the 14-week wait
Waiting 14 weeks for gynaecology at Airedale is a long time to be in pain or limbo. A self-pay hysteroscopy costs around £3,119, and private medical insurance covers treatment like it in full — usually within weeks, not months. It will not pay for a condition you are already waiting on, so it only helps if arranged before a problem starts — compare cover, see whether it is worth it, or get a free quote now.
Frequently asked questions
Can private cover skip the waiting list at Airedale? Yes for a new problem, no for one you are already waiting to have treated — here is what private cover gets you over the NHS. For the national picture see gynaecology waits across England or our NHS waiting-time guides.
Source: NHS England Referral to Treatment (RTT) and Diagnostics (DM01) waiting-times statistics, June 2026; self-pay figures from UK private hospitals’ own published price lists. Waiting-list figures change monthly.