At a glance: 49,043 people were waiting for NHS treatment at East Sussex Healthcare in June 2026, spread across 14 specialties, and 326 of them had already waited more than a year. The hardest specialty to be seen quickly was gynaecology — only 50% of patients seen within the 18-week target and a median wait of 18 weeks — while elderly medicine was quickest at 97%.
Treatment waiting times at East Sussex Healthcare
| Specialty | People waiting | Seen within 18 weeks | Waiting over a year | Median wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gynaecology | 5,378 | 50% | 87 | 18 weeks |
| Oral surgery | 1,955 | 51% | 1 | 17 weeks |
| Urology | 4,746 | 57% | 60 | 14 weeks |
| ENT | 5,493 | 61% | 6 | 13 weeks |
| Cardiology | 4,169 | 67% | 17 | 12 weeks |
| General surgery | 4,674 | 70% | 25 | 10 weeks |
| Respiratory medicine | 2,380 | 72% | 22 | 11 weeks |
| Trauma & orthopaedics | 10,165 | 78% | 103 | 8 weeks |
| Neurology | 1,887 | 78% | 0 | 9 weeks |
| Gastroenterology | 2,447 | 79% | 0 | 7 weeks |
| Ophthalmology | 3,844 | 82% | 1 | 7 weeks |
| Rheumatology | 788 | 90% | 4 | 6 weeks |
| Dermatology | 941 | 94% | 0 | 3 weeks |
| Elderly medicine | 176 | 97% | 0 | 5 weeks |
Diagnostic test waiting times at East Sussex Healthcare
| Test | People waiting | Waiting beyond 6 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Echocardiography | 1,135 | 21% |
| MRI | 3,349 | 14% |
| Ultrasound | 2,245 | 6% |
| CT | 1,690 | 2% |
| Gastroscopy | 330 | 1% |
| Audiology | 245 | 0% |
| Colonoscopy | 323 | 0% |
| Flexible sigmoidoscopy | 102 | 0% |
The six-week point is where the NHS counts a diagnostic wait as a breach; at East Sussex Healthcare the longest was echocardiography, with 21% past it and 1,135 people in the queue.
Skip the 18-week wait
Waiting 18 weeks for gynaecology at East Sussex Healthcare is a long time to be in pain or limbo. A self-pay hysteroscopy costs around £3,119, 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 East Sussex Healthcare? 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 gynaecology 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.