At a glance: 18,115 people were waiting for NHS treatment at North Tees and Hartlepool in June 2026, spread across 10 specialties, and 194 of them had already waited more than a year. The hardest specialty to be seen quickly was gynaecology — only 54% of patients seen within the 18-week target and a median wait of 16 weeks — while general medicine was quickest at 97%.
Treatment waiting times at North Tees and Hartlepool
| Specialty | People waiting | Seen within 18 weeks | Waiting over a year | Median wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gynaecology | 2,915 | 54% | 71 | 16 weeks |
| General surgery | 2,684 | 60% | 49 | 14 weeks |
| Urology | 2,145 | 68% | 47 | 11 weeks |
| Respiratory medicine | 728 | 68% | 8 | 11 weeks |
| Gastroenterology | 1,218 | 79% | 3 | 9 weeks |
| Rheumatology | 552 | 82% | 0 | 10 weeks |
| Cardiology | 693 | 85% | 0 | 6 weeks |
| Trauma & orthopaedics | 6,724 | 86% | 16 | 7 weeks |
| Elderly medicine | 194 | 91% | 0 | 7 weeks |
| General medicine | 262 | 97% | 0 | 4 weeks |
Diagnostic test waiting times at North Tees and Hartlepool
| Test | People waiting | Waiting beyond 6 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Audiology | 281 | 14% |
| DEXA scan | 419 | 9% |
| MRI | 1,688 | 4% |
| Echocardiography | 681 | 3% |
| Gastroscopy | 276 | 1% |
| CT | 629 | 0% |
| Ultrasound | 3,470 | 0% |
| Colonoscopy | 222 | 0% |
| Flexible sigmoidoscopy | 72 | 0% |
The six-week point is where the NHS counts a diagnostic wait as a breach; at North Tees and Hartlepool the longest was audiology, with 14% past it and 281 people in the queue.
Skip the 16-week wait
Waiting 16 weeks for gynaecology at North Tees and Hartlepool is a long time to be in pain or limbo. A self-pay hysteroscopy costs around £3,119, 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 North Tees and Hartlepool? 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 gynaecology 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.