At a glance: 107,575 people were waiting for NHS treatment at Manchester University in June 2026, spread across 17 specialties, and 1,359 of them had already waited more than a year. The hardest specialty to be seen quickly was plastic surgery — only 50% of patients seen within the 18-week target and a median wait of 17 weeks — while respiratory medicine was quickest at 93%.
Treatment waiting times at Manchester University
| Specialty | People waiting | Seen within 18 weeks | Waiting over a year | Median wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plastic surgery | 5,261 | 50% | 118 | 17 weeks |
| Oral surgery | 15,758 | 54% | 436 | 16 weeks |
| Urology | 6,490 | 56% | 120 | 15 weeks |
| Gynaecology | 18,629 | 56% | 137 | 15 weeks |
| Trauma & orthopaedics | 12,295 | 57% | 330 | 15 weeks |
| General surgery | 5,222 | 59% | 36 | 14 weeks |
| ENT | 8,911 | 59% | 94 | 14 weeks |
| Elderly medicine | 657 | 61% | 0 | 11 weeks |
| Cardiology | 8,413 | 62% | 28 | 13 weeks |
| Neurology | 65 | 68% | 0 | 13 weeks |
| Ophthalmology | 11,444 | 69% | 44 | 10 weeks |
| Gastroenterology | 7,703 | 75% | 15 | 10 weeks |
| Dermatology | 1,579 | 77% | 0 | 7 weeks |
| Cardiothoracic surgery | 762 | 85% | 0 | 7 weeks |
| General medicine | 212 | 88% | 1 | 7 weeks |
| Rheumatology | 1,128 | 91% | 0 | 6 weeks |
| Respiratory medicine | 3,046 | 93% | 0 | 6 weeks |
Diagnostic test waiting times at Manchester University
| Test | People waiting | Waiting beyond 6 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Urodynamics | 219 | 41% |
| Gastroscopy | 1,300 | 28% |
| Sleep studies | 1,707 | 26% |
| Cystoscopy | 715 | 19% |
| MRI | 7,023 | 13% |
| CT | 4,526 | 13% |
| Colonoscopy | 879 | 5% |
| Echocardiography | 3,110 | 4% |
| Audiology | 1,296 | 3% |
| Ultrasound | 9,353 | 1% |
| Flexible sigmoidoscopy | 221 | 1% |
| Barium enema | 207 | 0% |
| DEXA scan | 903 | 0% |
| Nerve conduction studies | 557 | 0% |
The six-week point is where the NHS counts a diagnostic wait as a breach; at Manchester University the longest was urodynamics, with 41% past it and 219 people in the queue.
Skip the 17-week wait
Waiting 17 weeks for plastic surgery at Manchester University 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 Manchester University? 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.