At a glance: 65,628 people were waiting for NHS treatment at King's College Hospital in June 2026, spread across 17 specialties, and 1,063 of them had already waited more than a year. The hardest specialty to be seen quickly was general surgery — only 40% of patients seen within the 18-week target and a median wait of 23 weeks — while elderly medicine was quickest at 96%.
Treatment waiting times at King's College Hospital
| Specialty | People waiting | Seen within 18 weeks | Waiting over a year | Median wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General surgery | 4,685 | 40% | 282 | 23 weeks |
| Trauma & orthopaedics | 3,588 | 58% | 52 | 14 weeks |
| Oral surgery | 9,056 | 59% | 131 | 14 weeks |
| Ophthalmology | 12,742 | 64% | 453 | 13 weeks |
| Gynaecology | 8,815 | 64% | 47 | 13 weeks |
| Cardiology | 5,080 | 69% | 30 | 11 weeks |
| Neurosurgery | 2,803 | 70% | 26 | 12 weeks |
| Urology | 4,365 | 71% | 19 | 10 weeks |
| Gastroenterology | 2,638 | 74% | 8 | 10 weeks |
| Respiratory medicine | 3,219 | 75% | 6 | 10 weeks |
| Dermatology | 3,193 | 76% | 4 | 8 weeks |
| ENT | 703 | 79% | 1 | 6 weeks |
| Neurology | 2,292 | 80% | 3 | 8 weeks |
| Cardiothoracic surgery | 101 | 80% | 0 | 6 weeks |
| Rheumatology | 1,160 | 81% | 0 | 9 weeks |
| General medicine | 669 | 91% | 1 | 7 weeks |
| Elderly medicine | 519 | 96% | 0 | 5 weeks |
Diagnostic test waiting times at King's College Hospital
| Test | People waiting | Waiting beyond 6 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Cystoscopy | 135 | 50% |
| Barium enema | 297 | 47% |
| Flexible sigmoidoscopy | 268 | 44% |
| Colonoscopy | 1,865 | 43% |
| Urodynamics | 149 | 32% |
| Gastroscopy | 1,139 | 32% |
| DEXA scan | 1,188 | 22% |
| MRI | 3,320 | 21% |
| Sleep studies | 432 | 21% |
| CT | 2,165 | 18% |
| Nerve conduction studies | 851 | 14% |
| Echocardiography | 2,859 | 12% |
| Ultrasound | 5,833 | 3% |
The six-week point is where the NHS counts a diagnostic wait as a breach; at King's College Hospital the longest was cystoscopy, with 50% past it and 135 people in the queue.
Skip the 23-week wait
Waiting 23 weeks for general surgery at King's College Hospital is a long time to be in pain or limbo. A self-pay hernia repair costs around £3,668, 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 King's College Hospital? 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 general 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.