At a glance: 51,596 people were waiting for NHS treatment at Lewisham and Greenwich in June 2026, spread across 13 specialties, and 888 of them had already waited more than a year. The hardest specialty to be seen quickly was urology — only 52% of patients seen within the 18-week target and a median wait of 17 weeks — while elderly medicine was quickest at 98%.
Treatment waiting times at Lewisham and Greenwich
| Specialty | People waiting | Seen within 18 weeks | Waiting over a year | Median wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Urology | 3,667 | 52% | 173 | 17 weeks |
| ENT | 8,923 | 53% | 176 | 16 weeks |
| Gynaecology | 7,994 | 59% | 109 | 14 weeks |
| General medicine | 336 | 59% | 60 | 15 weeks |
| Trauma & orthopaedics | 6,284 | 63% | 227 | 13 weeks |
| Gastroenterology | 6,274 | 65% | 32 | 12 weeks |
| General surgery | 6,492 | 69% | 109 | 11 weeks |
| Cardiology | 3,020 | 69% | 0 | 11 weeks |
| Neurology | 2,097 | 75% | 1 | 11 weeks |
| Rheumatology | 696 | 83% | 1 | 11 weeks |
| Respiratory medicine | 2,367 | 84% | 0 | 8 weeks |
| Dermatology | 3,116 | 91% | 0 | 6 weeks |
| Elderly medicine | 330 | 98% | 0 | 6 weeks |
Diagnostic test waiting times at Lewisham and Greenwich
| Test | People waiting | Waiting beyond 6 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Cystoscopy | 348 | 46% |
| Ultrasound | 12,837 | 34% |
| Colonoscopy | 649 | 22% |
| Flexible sigmoidoscopy | 140 | 21% |
| Sleep studies | 234 | 12% |
| Gastroscopy | 313 | 9% |
| CT | 1,159 | 7% |
| Barium enema | 69 | 7% |
| Echocardiography | 722 | 4% |
| DEXA scan | 859 | 3% |
| MRI | 1,400 | 2% |
| Audiology | 59 | 0% |
The six-week point is where the NHS counts a diagnostic wait as a breach; at Lewisham and Greenwich the longest was cystoscopy, with 46% past it and 348 people in the queue.
Skip the 17-week wait
Waiting 17 weeks for urology at Lewisham and Greenwich is a long time to be in pain or limbo. A self-pay cystoscopy costs around £1,785, 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 Lewisham and Greenwich? 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 urology 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.