At a glance: 78,631 people were waiting for NHS treatment at East Suffolk and North Essex in June 2026, spread across 16 specialties, and 63 of them had already waited more than a year. The hardest specialty to be seen quickly was oral surgery — only 51% of patients seen within the 18-week target and a median wait of 17 weeks — while elderly medicine was quickest at 96%.
Treatment waiting times at East Suffolk and North Essex
| Specialty | People waiting | Seen within 18 weeks | Waiting over a year | Median wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oral surgery | 3,870 | 51% | 0 | 17 weeks |
| Neurology | 3,975 | 51% | 16 | 17 weeks |
| Trauma & orthopaedics | 9,687 | 51% | 7 | 17 weeks |
| General surgery | 5,974 | 53% | 3 | 16 weeks |
| General medicine | 811 | 54% | 0 | 15 weeks |
| Rheumatology | 2,369 | 55% | 0 | 16 weeks |
| ENT | 10,396 | 56% | 0 | 15 weeks |
| Gynaecology | 8,412 | 57% | 35 | 14 weeks |
| Urology | 5,840 | 58% | 2 | 14 weeks |
| Plastic surgery | 292 | 67% | 0 | 10 weeks |
| Gastroenterology | 3,731 | 67% | 0 | 11 weeks |
| Ophthalmology | 8,724 | 68% | 0 | 12 weeks |
| Dermatology | 9,817 | 74% | 0 | 10 weeks |
| Cardiology | 3,070 | 75% | 0 | 9 weeks |
| Respiratory medicine | 1,528 | 80% | 0 | 8 weeks |
| Elderly medicine | 135 | 96% | 0 | 5 weeks |
Diagnostic test waiting times at East Suffolk and North Essex
| Test | People waiting | Waiting beyond 6 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Sleep studies | 627 | 26% |
| Flexible sigmoidoscopy | 345 | 24% |
| MRI | 4,275 | 23% |
| Colonoscopy | 1,116 | 19% |
| Gastroscopy | 1,028 | 19% |
| Echocardiography | 1,952 | 8% |
| Nerve conduction studies | 527 | 7% |
| Ultrasound | 5,634 | 5% |
| Cystoscopy | 479 | 4% |
| Audiology | 993 | 3% |
| CT | 2,074 | 2% |
| Barium enema | 119 | 1% |
| DEXA scan | 177 | 0% |
The six-week point is where the NHS counts a diagnostic wait as a breach; at East Suffolk and North Essex the longest was sleep studies, with 26% past it and 627 people in the queue.
Skip the 17-week wait
Waiting 17 weeks for oral surgery at East Suffolk and North Essex 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 Suffolk and North Essex? 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.