At a glance: 52,178 people were waiting for NHS treatment at Gloucestershire Hospitals in June 2026, spread across 14 specialties, and 12 of them had already waited more than a year. The hardest specialty to be seen quickly was trauma & orthopaedics — only 54% of patients seen within the 18-week target and a median wait of 16 weeks — while elderly medicine was quickest at 93%.
Treatment waiting times at Gloucestershire Hospitals
| Specialty | People waiting | Seen within 18 weeks | Waiting over a year | Median wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trauma & orthopaedics | 9,661 | 54% | 12 | 16 weeks |
| ENT | 5,531 | 60% | 0 | 14 weeks |
| Oral surgery | 3,523 | 65% | 0 | 13 weeks |
| Rheumatology | 1,217 | 67% | 0 | 10 weeks |
| Gynaecology | 4,343 | 68% | 0 | 11 weeks |
| Dermatology | 5,023 | 69% | 0 | 10 weeks |
| Neurology | 1,922 | 74% | 0 | 9 weeks |
| Urology | 3,756 | 79% | 0 | 10 weeks |
| Cardiology | 7,448 | 79% | 0 | 9 weeks |
| Ophthalmology | 3,372 | 85% | 0 | 8 weeks |
| General medicine | 218 | 85% | 0 | 8 weeks |
| Gastroenterology | 4,592 | 88% | 0 | 8 weeks |
| Respiratory medicine | 1,213 | 90% | 0 | 9 weeks |
| Elderly medicine | 359 | 93% | 0 | 5 weeks |
Diagnostic test waiting times at Gloucestershire Hospitals
| Test | People waiting | Waiting beyond 6 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Echocardiography | 1,493 | 55% |
| Colonoscopy | 941 | 49% |
| Flexible sigmoidoscopy | 423 | 41% |
| Cystoscopy | 466 | 33% |
| Nerve conduction studies | 425 | 31% |
| Gastroscopy | 756 | 28% |
| Sleep studies | 336 | 18% |
| Barium enema | 142 | 11% |
| MRI | 2,261 | 9% |
| Urodynamics | 51 | 8% |
| CT | 2,538 | 7% |
| Ultrasound | 3,631 | 4% |
| Audiology | 984 | 2% |
| DEXA scan | 542 | 1% |
The six-week point is where the NHS counts a diagnostic wait as a breach; at Gloucestershire Hospitals the longest was echocardiography, with 55% past it and 1,493 people in the queue.
Skip the 16-week wait
Waiting 16 weeks for trauma & orthopaedics at Gloucestershire Hospitals 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 Gloucestershire 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 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.