At a glance: 115,065 people were waiting for NHS treatment at Northern Care Alliance in June 2026, spread across 16 specialties, and 3,258 of them had already waited more than a year. The hardest specialty to be seen quickly was general surgery — only 48% of patients seen within the 18-week target and a median wait of 18 weeks — while elderly medicine was quickest at 93%.
Treatment waiting times at Northern Care Alliance
| Specialty | People waiting | Seen within 18 weeks | Waiting over a year | Median wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General surgery | 5,463 | 48% | 434 | 18 weeks |
| Oral surgery | 1,854 | 48% | 84 | 18 weeks |
| Neurosurgery | 4,432 | 51% | 172 | 17 weeks |
| Dermatology | 15,229 | 52% | 122 | 17 weeks |
| Gastroenterology | 13,661 | 54% | 273 | 15 weeks |
| Gynaecology | 10,036 | 54% | 597 | 16 weeks |
| ENT | 9,328 | 55% | 364 | 15 weeks |
| Ophthalmology | 6,277 | 55% | 206 | 16 weeks |
| Trauma & orthopaedics | 14,092 | 58% | 535 | 14 weeks |
| Urology | 7,441 | 59% | 191 | 15 weeks |
| Plastic surgery | 1,273 | 60% | 42 | 14 weeks |
| Rheumatology | 2,172 | 61% | 0 | 13 weeks |
| Neurology | 17,432 | 62% | 238 | 13 weeks |
| Cardiology | 5,128 | 68% | 0 | 13 weeks |
| Respiratory medicine | 1,033 | 89% | 0 | 5 weeks |
| Elderly medicine | 214 | 93% | 0 | 4 weeks |
Diagnostic test waiting times at Northern Care Alliance
| Test | People waiting | Waiting beyond 6 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Audiology | 3,097 | 46% |
| Colonoscopy | 1,615 | 44% |
| Flexible sigmoidoscopy | 307 | 38% |
| Echocardiography | 1,457 | 35% |
| Gastroscopy | 1,482 | 35% |
| CT | 2,966 | 4% |
| Sleep studies | 484 | 4% |
| Ultrasound | 4,022 | 3% |
| MRI | 7,597 | 2% |
| Nerve conduction studies | 354 | 1% |
| Cystoscopy | 224 | 1% |
| DEXA scan | 700 | 0% |
The six-week point is where the NHS counts a diagnostic wait as a breach; at Northern Care Alliance the longest was audiology, with 46% past it and 3,097 people in the queue.
Skip the 18-week wait
Waiting 18 weeks for general surgery at Northern Care Alliance is a long time to be in pain or limbo. A self-pay hernia repair costs around £3,668, 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 Northern Care Alliance? 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 general 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.