At a glance: 64,942 people were waiting for NHS treatment at North West Anglia in June 2026, spread across 16 specialties, and 310 of them had already waited more than a year. The hardest specialty to be seen quickly was oral surgery — only 48% of patients seen within the 18-week target and a median wait of 19 weeks — while general medicine was quickest at 100%.
Treatment waiting times at North West Anglia
| Specialty | People waiting | Seen within 18 weeks | Waiting over a year | Median wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oral surgery | 2,641 | 48% | 10 | 19 weeks |
| Cardiology | 6,927 | 52% | 76 | 16 weeks |
| Neurology | 1,648 | 53% | 2 | 16 weeks |
| Trauma & orthopaedics | 6,875 | 54% | 46 | 16 weeks |
| ENT | 7,808 | 56% | 31 | 15 weeks |
| Gynaecology | 6,702 | 56% | 72 | 15 weeks |
| General surgery | 5,977 | 62% | 33 | 13 weeks |
| Ophthalmology | 5,997 | 62% | 21 | 12 weeks |
| Plastic surgery | 1,449 | 63% | 12 | 11 weeks |
| Dermatology | 5,206 | 64% | 5 | 12 weeks |
| Rheumatology | 1,294 | 65% | 0 | 13 weeks |
| Urology | 5,225 | 68% | 1 | 11 weeks |
| Gastroenterology | 5,454 | 68% | 0 | 10 weeks |
| Elderly medicine | 337 | 76% | 0 | 7 weeks |
| Respiratory medicine | 1,274 | 78% | 1 | 7 weeks |
| General medicine | 128 | 100% | 0 | 7 weeks |
Diagnostic test waiting times at North West Anglia
| Test | People waiting | Waiting beyond 6 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Nerve conduction studies | 247 | 70% |
| Audiology | 656 | 59% |
| Echocardiography | 1,668 | 48% |
| Ultrasound | 7,537 | 46% |
| Flexible sigmoidoscopy | 284 | 43% |
| Colonoscopy | 1,005 | 42% |
| Gastroscopy | 815 | 39% |
| MRI | 4,470 | 37% |
| CT | 2,589 | 30% |
| DEXA scan | 903 | 11% |
| Cystoscopy | 293 | 10% |
The six-week point is where the NHS counts a diagnostic wait as a breach; at North West Anglia the longest was nerve conduction studies, with 70% past it and 247 people in the queue.
Skip the 19-week wait
Waiting 19 weeks for oral surgery at North West Anglia 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 North West Anglia? 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 oral 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.