At a glance: 39,078 people were waiting for NHS treatment at East Lancashire Hospitals in June 2026, spread across 13 specialties, and 222 of them had already waited more than a year. The hardest specialty to be seen quickly was oral surgery — only 60% of patients seen within the 18-week target and a median wait of 13 weeks — while elderly medicine was quickest at 100%.
Treatment waiting times at East Lancashire Hospitals
| Specialty | People waiting | Seen within 18 weeks | Waiting over a year | Median wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oral surgery | 3,963 | 60% | 45 | 13 weeks |
| Gynaecology | 6,967 | 60% | 127 | 14 weeks |
| General surgery | 3,122 | 61% | 1 | 13 weeks |
| Dermatology | 2,112 | 62% | 0 | 13 weeks |
| Ophthalmology | 4,358 | 67% | 37 | 10 weeks |
| Rheumatology | 878 | 68% | 1 | 10 weeks |
| Urology | 2,231 | 79% | 0 | 7 weeks |
| Trauma & orthopaedics | 6,762 | 79% | 11 | 7 weeks |
| ENT | 3,598 | 81% | 0 | 7 weeks |
| Cardiology | 2,055 | 88% | 0 | 7 weeks |
| Gastroenterology | 2,269 | 90% | 0 | 6 weeks |
| Respiratory medicine | 690 | 97% | 0 | 3 weeks |
| Elderly medicine | 73 | 100% | 0 | 2 weeks |
Diagnostic test waiting times at East Lancashire Hospitals
| Test | People waiting | Waiting beyond 6 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Urodynamics | 161 | 24% |
| Cystoscopy | 204 | 23% |
| Audiology | 331 | 14% |
| Ultrasound | 6,232 | 5% |
| MRI | 2,240 | 4% |
| DEXA scan | 472 | 4% |
| Nerve conduction studies | 171 | 2% |
| Colonoscopy | 908 | 2% |
| Gastroscopy | 792 | 2% |
| Flexible sigmoidoscopy | 121 | 1% |
| CT | 1,640 | 0% |
| Barium enema | 59 | 0% |
| Echocardiography | 893 | 0% |
| Sleep studies | 282 | 0% |
The six-week point is where the NHS counts a diagnostic wait as a breach; at East Lancashire Hospitals the longest was urodynamics, with 24% past it and 161 people in the queue.
Skip the 13-week wait
Waiting 13 weeks for oral surgery at East Lancashire 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 East Lancashire 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.