At a glance: 31,207 people were waiting for NHS treatment at Kingston and Richmond in June 2026, spread across 15 specialties, and 84 of them had already waited more than a year. The hardest specialty to be seen quickly was general surgery — only 51% of patients seen within the 18-week target and a median wait of 17 weeks — while rheumatology was quickest at 96%.
Treatment waiting times at Kingston and Richmond
| Specialty | People waiting | Seen within 18 weeks | Waiting over a year | Median wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General surgery | 1,235 | 51% | 7 | 17 weeks |
| Trauma & orthopaedics | 3,241 | 52% | 10 | 17 weeks |
| General medicine | 467 | 57% | 0 | 15 weeks |
| Gastroenterology | 2,936 | 60% | 1 | 14 weeks |
| Dermatology | 3,295 | 61% | 0 | 13 weeks |
| ENT | 3,937 | 64% | 41 | 13 weeks |
| Cardiology | 2,149 | 69% | 0 | 11 weeks |
| Gynaecology | 4,179 | 70% | 25 | 11 weeks |
| Respiratory medicine | 760 | 74% | 0 | 10 weeks |
| Oral surgery | 1,036 | 79% | 0 | 10 weeks |
| Ophthalmology | 4,547 | 80% | 0 | 9 weeks |
| Urology | 1,854 | 82% | 0 | 9 weeks |
| Neurology | 911 | 87% | 0 | 8 weeks |
| Plastic surgery | 246 | 91% | 0 | 6 weeks |
| Rheumatology | 414 | 96% | 0 | 3 weeks |
Diagnostic test waiting times at Kingston and Richmond
| Test | People waiting | Waiting beyond 6 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Sleep studies | 604 | 68% |
| Gastroscopy | 572 | 68% |
| Urodynamics | 54 | 65% |
| Flexible sigmoidoscopy | 203 | 62% |
| Colonoscopy | 574 | 57% |
| Audiology | 717 | 32% |
| Ultrasound | 5,516 | 27% |
| Cystoscopy | 75 | 23% |
| Echocardiography | 367 | 17% |
| Nerve conduction studies | 80 | 4% |
| MRI | 1,082 | 1% |
| CT | 653 | 0% |
The six-week point is where the NHS counts a diagnostic wait as a breach; at Kingston and Richmond the longest was sleep studies, with 68% past it and 604 people in the queue.
Skip the 17-week wait
Waiting 17 weeks for general surgery at Kingston and Richmond 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 Kingston and Richmond? 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.