An echocardiogram is an ultrasound of the heart that checks its structure and how well it pumps. At the end of June 2026, 153,198 people across England were on the waiting list for echocardiography, and 28% had waited longer than the NHS’s six-week target — but where you live changes that wait dramatically, and private scans are available within days.
Where echocardiography waits are longest
| NHS trust | People waiting | Waiting beyond 6 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Northampton General Hospital | 5,189 | 80% |
| University Hospitals of North Midlands | 1,519 | 69% |
| York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals | 307 | 68% |
| Hull University Teaching Hospitals | 2,706 | 67% |
| Mid and South Essex | 6,926 | 67% |
| George Eliot Hospital | 1,275 | 65% |
| The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, King's Lynn, | 1,233 | 59% |
| Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals | 2,770 | 57% |
| Royal Cornwall Hospitals | 1,080 | 56% |
| Gloucestershire Hospitals | 1,493 | 55% |
| United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals | 3,982 | 54% |
| London North West University Healthcare | 4,557 | 54% |
A wait beyond six weeks for echocardiography is counted as a breach of the NHS standard. In the trusts above, most patients had waited longer than that — which is exactly where going private saves the most time.
Skip the queue with private treatment
A long wait for echocardiography is a wait for the answers a diagnosis brings. Private cover can have you seen by a consultant in days, not months. It will not pay for a condition you are already waiting on, so arrange it before a problem starts — compare cover, see if it is worth it, or get a free quote.
Frequently asked questions
What does going private cost for echocardiography? Private hospitals publish self-pay prices and can usually book you in within days. Private medical insurance covers diagnostic tests in full when you are referred, provided the problem is not one you already have.
Why do NHS echocardiography waits vary so much? Capacity, staffing and demand differ by trust, so the wait for the same test can be a few days in one place and several months in another.
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.