At a glance: 44,770 people were waiting for NHS treatment at Liverpool University Hospitals in June 2026, spread across 14 specialties, and 454 of them had already waited more than a year. The hardest specialty to be seen quickly was plastic surgery — only 21% of patients seen within the 18-week target and a median wait of 27 weeks — while general medicine was quickest at 94%.
Treatment waiting times at Liverpool University Hospitals
| Specialty | People waiting | Seen within 18 weeks | Waiting over a year | Median wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plastic surgery | 122 | 21% | 1 | 27 weeks |
| General surgery | 2,028 | 45% | 49 | 19 weeks |
| Trauma & orthopaedics | 4,614 | 52% | 175 | 17 weeks |
| Urology | 3,648 | 53% | 32 | 16 weeks |
| ENT | 5,353 | 53% | 90 | 16 weeks |
| Elderly medicine | 1,105 | 55% | 0 | 16 weeks |
| Oral surgery | 4,242 | 55% | 58 | 16 weeks |
| Gastroenterology | 7,088 | 63% | 32 | 13 weeks |
| Dermatology | 3,827 | 65% | 7 | 11 weeks |
| Ophthalmology | 7,714 | 74% | 1 | 9 weeks |
| Cardiology | 3,174 | 76% | 9 | 10 weeks |
| Rheumatology | 547 | 84% | 0 | 9 weeks |
| Respiratory medicine | 1,229 | 84% | 0 | 8 weeks |
| General medicine | 79 | 94% | 0 | 2 weeks |
Diagnostic test waiting times at Liverpool University Hospitals
| Test | People waiting | Waiting beyond 6 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Flexible sigmoidoscopy | 502 | 52% |
| Gastroscopy | 1,614 | 47% |
| Colonoscopy | 1,178 | 40% |
| Cystoscopy | 262 | 39% |
| Echocardiography | 3,112 | 18% |
| MRI | 2,418 | 5% |
| Audiology | 163 | 4% |
| CT | 1,883 | 2% |
| Ultrasound | 4,202 | 1% |
| DEXA scan | 761 | 0% |
| Sleep studies | 548 | 0% |
The six-week point is where the NHS counts a diagnostic wait as a breach; at Liverpool University Hospitals the longest was flexible sigmoidoscopy, with 52% past it and 502 people in the queue.
Skip the 27-week wait
Waiting 27 weeks for plastic surgery at Liverpool University 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 Liverpool University 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 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.