At a glance: 27,072 people were waiting for NHS treatment at Medway in June 2026, spread across 12 specialties, and 557 of them had already waited more than a year. The hardest specialty to be seen quickly was rheumatology — only 31% of patients seen within the 18-week target and a median wait of 29 weeks — while elderly medicine was quickest at 97%.
Treatment waiting times at Medway
| Specialty | People waiting | Seen within 18 weeks | Waiting over a year | Median wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rheumatology | 3,335 | 31% | 289 | 29 weeks |
| Neurology | 2,017 | 33% | 253 | 28 weeks |
| Cardiology | 3,215 | 53% | 11 | 16 weeks |
| Gynaecology | 4,190 | 59% | 0 | 14 weeks |
| Respiratory medicine | 911 | 60% | 0 | 13 weeks |
| Trauma & orthopaedics | 2,916 | 61% | 2 | 14 weeks |
| Gastroenterology | 2,671 | 62% | 0 | 13 weeks |
| General surgery | 939 | 68% | 2 | 11 weeks |
| ENT | 4,446 | 75% | 0 | 11 weeks |
| Urology | 2,272 | 78% | 0 | 10 weeks |
| General medicine | 97 | 97% | 0 | 7 weeks |
| Elderly medicine | 63 | 97% | 0 | 3 weeks |
Diagnostic test waiting times at Medway
| Test | People waiting | Waiting beyond 6 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Sleep studies | 609 | 50% |
| Audiology | 798 | 30% |
| Echocardiography | 861 | 6% |
| DEXA scan | 444 | 5% |
| Gastroscopy | 251 | 4% |
| Colonoscopy | 197 | 3% |
| Flexible sigmoidoscopy | 131 | 2% |
| MRI | 1,252 | 1% |
| CT | 416 | 1% |
| Ultrasound | 1,222 | 1% |
| Cystoscopy | 185 | 1% |
| Barium enema | 61 | 0% |
The six-week point is where the NHS counts a diagnostic wait as a breach; at Medway the longest was sleep studies, with 50% past it and 609 people in the queue.
Skip the 29-week wait
Waiting 29 weeks for rheumatology at Medway 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 Medway? 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 rheumatology 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.