At a glance: 41,732 people were waiting for NHS treatment at Cambridge University Hospitals in June 2026, spread across 17 specialties, and 816 of them had already waited more than a year. The hardest specialty to be seen quickly was general medicine — only 39% of patients seen within the 18-week target and a median wait of 23 weeks — while respiratory medicine was quickest at 97%.
Treatment waiting times at Cambridge University Hospitals
| Specialty | People waiting | Seen within 18 weeks | Waiting over a year | Median wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General medicine | 793 | 39% | 58 | 23 weeks |
| Oral surgery | 3,814 | 41% | 159 | 21 weeks |
| Gynaecology | 4,485 | 49% | 228 | 18 weeks |
| Cardiology | 3,108 | 51% | 115 | 17 weeks |
| General surgery | 1,519 | 52% | 19 | 17 weeks |
| ENT | 3,648 | 54% | 120 | 16 weeks |
| Trauma & orthopaedics | 4,470 | 56% | 28 | 15 weeks |
| Plastic surgery | 2,032 | 63% | 6 | 11 weeks |
| Urology | 2,329 | 67% | 17 | 11 weeks |
| Neurosurgery | 2,066 | 67% | 29 | 11 weeks |
| Dermatology | 3,695 | 68% | 8 | 9 weeks |
| Ophthalmology | 4,120 | 69% | 27 | 11 weeks |
| Neurology | 1,476 | 75% | 2 | 10 weeks |
| Gastroenterology | 1,594 | 86% | 0 | 4 weeks |
| Rheumatology | 1,858 | 86% | 0 | 7 weeks |
| Elderly medicine | 78 | 94% | 0 | 3 weeks |
| Respiratory medicine | 647 | 97% | 0 | 5 weeks |
Diagnostic test waiting times at Cambridge University Hospitals
| Test | People waiting | Waiting beyond 6 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Urodynamics | 224 | 49% |
| Ultrasound | 5,134 | 37% |
| MRI | 4,586 | 36% |
| Echocardiography | 1,794 | 31% |
| Nerve conduction studies | 546 | 28% |
| Sleep studies | 94 | 28% |
| Audiology | 686 | 19% |
| Cystoscopy | 175 | 15% |
| CT | 952 | 6% |
| Barium enema | 57 | 4% |
| Gastroscopy | 958 | 3% |
| Colonoscopy | 1,104 | 2% |
| DEXA scan | 511 | 1% |
| Flexible sigmoidoscopy | 205 | 1% |
The six-week point is where the NHS counts a diagnostic wait as a breach; at Cambridge University Hospitals the longest was urodynamics, with 49% past it and 224 people in the queue.
Skip the 23-week wait
Waiting 23 weeks for general medicine at Cambridge University 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 Cambridge University 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 general medicine 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.