At a glance: 68,391 people were waiting for NHS treatment at Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals in June 2026, spread across 15 specialties, and 1,362 of them had already waited more than a year. The hardest specialty to be seen quickly was dermatology — only 54% of patients seen within the 18-week target and a median wait of 16 weeks — while general medicine was quickest at 88%.
Treatment waiting times at Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals
| Specialty | People waiting | Seen within 18 weeks | Waiting over a year | Median wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dermatology | 7,560 | 54% | 435 | 16 weeks |
| Plastic surgery | 8,840 | 55% | 316 | 15 weeks |
| Oral surgery | 2,221 | 56% | 27 | 15 weeks |
| ENT | 7,012 | 64% | 88 | 13 weeks |
| General surgery | 6,567 | 64% | 157 | 13 weeks |
| Rheumatology | 1,519 | 67% | 12 | 12 weeks |
| Urology | 5,728 | 68% | 86 | 11 weeks |
| Trauma & orthopaedics | 7,714 | 69% | 124 | 9 weeks |
| Gynaecology | 5,613 | 69% | 89 | 11 weeks |
| Ophthalmology | 3,851 | 73% | 13 | 10 weeks |
| Cardiology | 2,726 | 73% | 0 | 11 weeks |
| Gastroenterology | 6,932 | 78% | 15 | 9 weeks |
| Respiratory medicine | 1,300 | 84% | 0 | 9 weeks |
| Elderly medicine | 391 | 85% | 0 | 8 weeks |
| General medicine | 417 | 88% | 0 | 5 weeks |
Diagnostic test waiting times at Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals
| Test | People waiting | Waiting beyond 6 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Cystoscopy | 408 | 37% |
| Audiology | 687 | 30% |
| Echocardiography | 2,362 | 30% |
| Ultrasound | 6,514 | 22% |
| Urodynamics | 253 | 22% |
| Gastroscopy | 925 | 15% |
| MRI | 2,453 | 14% |
| Colonoscopy | 845 | 13% |
| Flexible sigmoidoscopy | 266 | 13% |
| CT | 1,540 | 8% |
| Nerve conduction studies | 368 | 8% |
| DEXA scan | 516 | 5% |
| Barium enema | 134 | 4% |
The six-week point is where the NHS counts a diagnostic wait as a breach; at Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals the longest was cystoscopy, with 37% past it and 408 people in the queue.
Skip the 16-week wait
Waiting 16 weeks for dermatology at Mersey and West Lancashire 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 Mersey and West Lancashire 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 dermatology 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.