At a glance: 37,772 people were waiting for NHS treatment at Northumbria Healthcare in June 2026, spread across 12 specialties, and none had yet waited more than a year. The hardest specialty to be seen quickly was oral surgery — only 63% of patients seen within the 18-week target and a median wait of 13 weeks — while elderly medicine was quickest at 100%.
Treatment waiting times at Northumbria Healthcare
| Specialty | People waiting | Seen within 18 weeks | Waiting over a year | Median wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oral surgery | 1,624 | 63% | 0 | 13 weeks |
| Trauma & orthopaedics | 10,399 | 71% | 0 | 11 weeks |
| Gynaecology | 4,045 | 77% | 0 | 10 weeks |
| Plastic surgery | 2,951 | 80% | 0 | 7 weeks |
| Rheumatology | 1,164 | 85% | 0 | 7 weeks |
| Urology | 2,920 | 91% | 0 | 8 weeks |
| General surgery | 6,520 | 93% | 0 | 8 weeks |
| Respiratory medicine | 2,820 | 95% | 0 | 8 weeks |
| Gastroenterology | 1,523 | 97% | 0 | 7 weeks |
| Cardiology | 1,607 | 98% | 0 | 7 weeks |
| General medicine | 1,559 | 100% | 0 | 5 weeks |
| Elderly medicine | 640 | 100% | 0 | 4 weeks |
Diagnostic test waiting times at Northumbria Healthcare
| Test | People waiting | Waiting beyond 6 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Cystoscopy | 346 | 3% |
| Echocardiography | 1,024 | 2% |
| Colonoscopy | 285 | 2% |
| MRI | 2,929 | 0% |
| CT | 2,419 | 0% |
| Ultrasound | 6,730 | 0% |
| DEXA scan | 822 | 0% |
| Nerve conduction studies | 263 | 0% |
| Sleep studies | 260 | 0% |
| Flexible sigmoidoscopy | 102 | 0% |
| Gastroscopy | 463 | 0% |
The six-week point is where the NHS counts a diagnostic wait as a breach; at Northumbria Healthcare the longest was cystoscopy, with 3% past it and 346 people in the queue.
Skip the 13-week wait
Waiting 13 weeks for oral surgery at Northumbria Healthcare 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 Northumbria Healthcare? 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.