At a glance: 52,560 people were waiting for NHS treatment at Leeds Teaching Hospitals in June 2026, spread across 17 specialties, and 898 of them had already waited more than a year. The hardest specialty to be seen quickly was ENT — only 55% of patients seen within the 18-week target and a median wait of 15 weeks — while elderly medicine was quickest at 100%.
Treatment waiting times at Leeds Teaching Hospitals
| Specialty | People waiting | Seen within 18 weeks | Waiting over a year | Median wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENT | 3,437 | 55% | 252 | 15 weeks |
| Trauma & orthopaedics | 6,333 | 56% | 349 | 15 weeks |
| Plastic surgery | 2,389 | 59% | 139 | 14 weeks |
| Gynaecology | 9,342 | 62% | 71 | 13 weeks |
| Rheumatology | 2,118 | 64% | 0 | 13 weeks |
| Dermatology | 5,476 | 66% | 30 | 10 weeks |
| Neurosurgery | 562 | 67% | 30 | 10 weeks |
| Urology | 4,107 | 71% | 0 | 11 weeks |
| Oral surgery | 2,119 | 72% | 24 | 10 weeks |
| Neurology | 2,988 | 72% | 0 | 11 weeks |
| Gastroenterology | 2,864 | 75% | 0 | 8 weeks |
| General surgery | 1,498 | 79% | 0 | 8 weeks |
| Cardiothoracic surgery | 509 | 79% | 1 | 7 weeks |
| Ophthalmology | 4,841 | 84% | 2 | 7 weeks |
| Respiratory medicine | 764 | 94% | 0 | 5 weeks |
| Cardiology | 3,162 | 97% | 0 | 4 weeks |
| Elderly medicine | 51 | 100% | 0 | 3 weeks |
Diagnostic test waiting times at Leeds Teaching Hospitals
| Test | People waiting | Waiting beyond 6 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Audiology | 775 | 41% |
| Gastroscopy | 436 | 32% |
| Urodynamics | 51 | 24% |
| Colonoscopy | 325 | 20% |
| Cystoscopy | 214 | 18% |
| Ultrasound | 7,133 | 15% |
| MRI | 3,887 | 8% |
| CT | 3,679 | 7% |
| Flexible sigmoidoscopy | 107 | 1% |
| DEXA scan | 713 | 0% |
| Echocardiography | 1,256 | 0% |
| Nerve conduction studies | 436 | 0% |
| Sleep studies | 610 | 0% |
The six-week point is where the NHS counts a diagnostic wait as a breach; at Leeds Teaching Hospitals the longest was audiology, with 41% past it and 775 people in the queue.
Skip the 15-week wait
Waiting 15 weeks for ENT at Leeds Teaching Hospitals 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 Leeds Teaching 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 ENT 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.