At a glance: 33,798 people were waiting for NHS treatment at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals in June 2026, spread across 15 specialties, and 1,089 of them had already waited more than a year. The hardest specialty to be seen quickly was oral surgery — only 45% of patients seen within the 18-week target and a median wait of 20 weeks — while elderly medicine was quickest at 92%.
Treatment waiting times at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals
| Specialty | People waiting | Seen within 18 weeks | Waiting over a year | Median wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oral surgery | 2,076 | 45% | 21 | 20 weeks |
| Gynaecology | 3,174 | 48% | 373 | 19 weeks |
| Urology | 2,397 | 49% | 82 | 18 weeks |
| Cardiothoracic surgery | 938 | 50% | 95 | 18 weeks |
| Cardiology | 5,298 | 52% | 263 | 17 weeks |
| General surgery | 1,207 | 56% | 7 | 16 weeks |
| Gastroenterology | 3,692 | 58% | 134 | 14 weeks |
| Trauma & orthopaedics | 2,986 | 59% | 25 | 15 weeks |
| Respiratory medicine | 1,120 | 59% | 22 | 14 weeks |
| Ophthalmology | 3,121 | 65% | 42 | 11 weeks |
| Dermatology | 3,159 | 66% | 0 | 11 weeks |
| ENT | 3,264 | 67% | 25 | 11 weeks |
| Rheumatology | 1,067 | 68% | 0 | 12 weeks |
| Plastic surgery | 235 | 73% | 0 | 11 weeks |
| Elderly medicine | 64 | 92% | 0 | 4 weeks |
Diagnostic test waiting times at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals
| Test | People waiting | Waiting beyond 6 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Urodynamics | 174 | 87% |
| Audiology | 1,267 | 58% |
| Cystoscopy | 154 | 49% |
| CT | 851 | 21% |
| Flexible sigmoidoscopy | 85 | 20% |
| MRI | 1,648 | 19% |
| Nerve conduction studies | 76 | 17% |
| Gastroscopy | 399 | 17% |
| Colonoscopy | 436 | 15% |
| Ultrasound | 2,124 | 9% |
| Sleep studies | 202 | 5% |
| Echocardiography | 697 | 2% |
| DEXA scan | 52 | 0% |
The six-week point is where the NHS counts a diagnostic wait as a breach; at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals the longest was urodynamics, with 87% past it and 174 people in the queue.
Skip the 20-week wait
Waiting 20 weeks for oral surgery at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals 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 Blackpool Teaching Hospitals? 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 oral surgery 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.