At a glance: 57,087 people were waiting for NHS treatment at Imperial College Healthcare in June 2026, spread across 18 specialties, and 20 of them had already waited more than a year. The hardest specialty to be seen quickly was plastic surgery — only 56% of patients seen within the 18-week target and a median wait of 15 weeks — while gastroenterology was quickest at 90%.
Treatment waiting times at Imperial College Healthcare
| Specialty | People waiting | Seen within 18 weeks | Waiting over a year | Median wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plastic surgery | 1,975 | 56% | 1 | 15 weeks |
| Neurology | 3,872 | 58% | 0 | 15 weeks |
| General surgery | 2,201 | 60% | 2 | 14 weeks |
| Urology | 3,674 | 62% | 0 | 13 weeks |
| ENT | 7,605 | 63% | 4 | 13 weeks |
| Neurosurgery | 3,030 | 63% | 8 | 13 weeks |
| Trauma & orthopaedics | 3,151 | 64% | 0 | 12 weeks |
| Cardiology | 8,032 | 69% | 1 | 11 weeks |
| Elderly medicine | 306 | 69% | 0 | 9 weeks |
| Gynaecology | 6,573 | 70% | 1 | 9 weeks |
| General medicine | 114 | 70% | 0 | 10 weeks |
| Dermatology | 4,329 | 74% | 0 | 9 weeks |
| Cardiothoracic surgery | 573 | 74% | 0 | 9 weeks |
| Ophthalmology | 5,236 | 78% | 3 | 8 weeks |
| Respiratory medicine | 2,309 | 80% | 0 | 8 weeks |
| Oral surgery | 511 | 83% | 0 | 8 weeks |
| Rheumatology | 614 | 86% | 0 | 7 weeks |
| Gastroenterology | 2,982 | 90% | 0 | 8 weeks |
Diagnostic test waiting times at Imperial College Healthcare
| Test | People waiting | Waiting beyond 6 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Sleep studies | 542 | 18% |
| MRI | 5,013 | 15% |
| Ultrasound | 6,028 | 10% |
| Audiology | 868 | 6% |
| Echocardiography | 985 | 5% |
| Barium enema | 216 | 4% |
| CT | 2,021 | 2% |
| DEXA scan | 769 | 1% |
| Nerve conduction studies | 360 | 1% |
| Colonoscopy | 928 | 1% |
| Flexible sigmoidoscopy | 146 | 1% |
| Cystoscopy | 314 | 1% |
| Gastroscopy | 825 | 1% |
| Urodynamics | 95 | 0% |
The six-week point is where the NHS counts a diagnostic wait as a breach; at Imperial College Healthcare the longest was sleep studies, with 18% past it and 542 people in the queue.
Skip the 15-week wait
Waiting 15 weeks for plastic surgery at Imperial College Healthcare 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 Imperial College 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 plastic 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.