At a glance: 19,963 people were waiting for NHS treatment at Chesterfield Royal Hospital in June 2026, spread across 13 specialties, and 486 of them had already waited more than a year. The hardest specialty to be seen quickly was general surgery — only 48% of patients seen within the 18-week target and a median wait of 19 weeks — while rheumatology was quickest at 80%.
Treatment waiting times at Chesterfield Royal Hospital
| Specialty | People waiting | Seen within 18 weeks | Waiting over a year | Median wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General surgery | 1,311 | 48% | 159 | 19 weeks |
| Trauma & orthopaedics | 2,343 | 51% | 63 | 17 weeks |
| Gynaecology | 2,534 | 57% | 82 | 15 weeks |
| Urology | 1,703 | 58% | 52 | 14 weeks |
| Oral surgery | 1,103 | 60% | 47 | 11 weeks |
| Dermatology | 2,229 | 65% | 2 | 12 weeks |
| Gastroenterology | 1,642 | 66% | 15 | 10 weeks |
| ENT | 2,560 | 68% | 39 | 11 weeks |
| Cardiology | 1,073 | 68% | 15 | 11 weeks |
| General medicine | 461 | 70% | 2 | 10 weeks |
| Ophthalmology | 2,147 | 72% | 5 | 10 weeks |
| Respiratory medicine | 509 | 75% | 1 | 8 weeks |
| Rheumatology | 348 | 80% | 4 | 6 weeks |
Diagnostic test waiting times at Chesterfield Royal Hospital
| Test | People waiting | Waiting beyond 6 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Urodynamics | 54 | 69% |
| Audiology | 1,173 | 51% |
| DEXA scan | 575 | 28% |
| Gastroscopy | 207 | 14% |
| Flexible sigmoidoscopy | 73 | 11% |
| Colonoscopy | 298 | 8% |
| MRI | 1,521 | 4% |
| CT | 987 | 4% |
| Ultrasound | 3,445 | 4% |
| Echocardiography | 434 | 4% |
| Cystoscopy | 82 | 1% |
The six-week point is where the NHS counts a diagnostic wait as a breach; at Chesterfield Royal Hospital the longest was urodynamics, with 69% past it and 54 people in the queue.
Skip the 19-week wait
Waiting 19 weeks for general surgery at Chesterfield Royal Hospital is a long time to be in pain or limbo. A self-pay hernia repair costs around £3,668, 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 Chesterfield Royal Hospital? 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 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.