At a glance: 19,184 people were waiting for NHS treatment at Dorset County Hospital in June 2026, spread across 12 specialties, and 318 of them had already waited more than a year. The hardest specialty to be seen quickly was trauma & orthopaedics — only 43% of patients seen within the 18-week target and a median wait of 21 weeks — while respiratory medicine was quickest at 80%.
Treatment waiting times at Dorset County Hospital
| Specialty | People waiting | Seen within 18 weeks | Waiting over a year | Median wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trauma & orthopaedics | 3,483 | 43% | 200 | 21 weeks |
| General surgery | 1,293 | 50% | 5 | 17 weeks |
| ENT | 3,015 | 54% | 58 | 16 weeks |
| Cardiology | 1,796 | 57% | 4 | 15 weeks |
| Oral surgery | 1,698 | 57% | 4 | 15 weeks |
| Urology | 1,343 | 63% | 0 | 12 weeks |
| Gynaecology | 1,310 | 64% | 27 | 13 weeks |
| Dermatology | 1,519 | 65% | 18 | 9 weeks |
| Elderly medicine | 70 | 70% | 0 | 10 weeks |
| Gastroenterology | 968 | 75% | 1 | 10 weeks |
| Ophthalmology | 2,383 | 76% | 1 | 8 weeks |
| Respiratory medicine | 306 | 80% | 0 | 8 weeks |
Diagnostic test waiting times at Dorset County Hospital
| Test | People waiting | Waiting beyond 6 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Echocardiography | 1,326 | 46% |
| Cystoscopy | 160 | 35% |
| Gastroscopy | 645 | 35% |
| Colonoscopy | 651 | 34% |
| DEXA scan | 474 | 16% |
| Flexible sigmoidoscopy | 111 | 15% |
| Sleep studies | 242 | 14% |
| Nerve conduction studies | 197 | 13% |
| CT | 570 | 4% |
| MRI | 445 | 3% |
| Ultrasound | 1,065 | 1% |
The six-week point is where the NHS counts a diagnostic wait as a breach; at Dorset County Hospital the longest was echocardiography, with 46% past it and 1,326 people in the queue.
Skip the 21-week wait
Waiting 21 weeks for trauma & orthopaedics at Dorset County Hospital is a long time to be in pain or limbo. A self-pay hip replacement costs around £16,225, 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 Dorset County 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 trauma & orthopaedics 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.