At a glance: 80,384 people were waiting for NHS treatment at Barts Health in June 2026, spread across 17 specialties, and 691 of them had already waited more than a year. The hardest specialty to be seen quickly was ENT — only 46% of patients seen within the 18-week target and a median wait of 19 weeks — while elderly medicine was quickest at 92%.
Treatment waiting times at Barts Health
| Specialty | People waiting | Seen within 18 weeks | Waiting over a year | Median wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENT | 6,246 | 46% | 226 | 19 weeks |
| Plastic surgery | 1,290 | 53% | 71 | 16 weeks |
| General medicine | 57 | 54% | 0 | 17 weeks |
| Neurosurgery | 1,527 | 55% | 23 | 16 weeks |
| Trauma & orthopaedics | 8,710 | 58% | 83 | 14 weeks |
| Dermatology | 7,224 | 58% | 68 | 14 weeks |
| Urology | 6,222 | 59% | 33 | 14 weeks |
| Neurology | 2,898 | 59% | 4 | 15 weeks |
| Oral surgery | 3,573 | 60% | 88 | 13 weeks |
| Gastroenterology | 8,156 | 62% | 10 | 14 weeks |
| Gynaecology | 8,878 | 65% | 14 | 12 weeks |
| General surgery | 4,448 | 66% | 60 | 12 weeks |
| Ophthalmology | 6,123 | 68% | 2 | 11 weeks |
| Respiratory medicine | 4,931 | 71% | 8 | 11 weeks |
| Cardiology | 8,612 | 76% | 1 | 9 weeks |
| Rheumatology | 1,322 | 80% | 0 | 8 weeks |
| Elderly medicine | 167 | 92% | 0 | 6 weeks |
Diagnostic test waiting times at Barts Health
| Test | People waiting | Waiting beyond 6 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Urodynamics | 255 | 80% |
| Audiology | 3,378 | 71% |
| Gastroscopy | 2,577 | 66% |
| Flexible sigmoidoscopy | 632 | 60% |
| Barium enema | 307 | 59% |
| DEXA scan | 2,496 | 56% |
| Colonoscopy | 2,510 | 56% |
| Cystoscopy | 405 | 52% |
| Sleep studies | 484 | 47% |
| MRI | 6,640 | 32% |
| Nerve conduction studies | 298 | 18% |
| Ultrasound | 9,376 | 12% |
| CT | 4,629 | 9% |
| Echocardiography | 2,783 | 1% |
The six-week point is where the NHS counts a diagnostic wait as a breach; at Barts Health the longest was urodynamics, with 80% past it and 255 people in the queue.
Skip the 19-week wait
Waiting 19 weeks for ENT at Barts Health is a long time to be in pain or limbo. Private cover can have you seen by a consultant in days rather than 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 Barts Health? 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 ENT 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.