At a glance: 55,932 people were waiting for NHS treatment at Nottingham University Hospitals in June 2026, spread across 17 specialties, and 1,362 of them had already waited more than a year. The hardest specialty to be seen quickly was oral surgery — only 50% of patients seen within the 18-week target and a median wait of 18 weeks — while rheumatology was quickest at 87%.
Treatment waiting times at Nottingham University Hospitals
| Specialty | People waiting | Seen within 18 weeks | Waiting over a year | Median wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oral surgery | 2,167 | 50% | 18 | 18 weeks |
| Gynaecology | 6,903 | 53% | 529 | 16 weeks |
| Elderly medicine | 1,164 | 54% | 65 | 16 weeks |
| General surgery | 860 | 59% | 19 | 15 weeks |
| Trauma & orthopaedics | 7,253 | 60% | 248 | 14 weeks |
| Plastic surgery | 930 | 63% | 22 | 13 weeks |
| Gastroenterology | 4,697 | 64% | 58 | 13 weeks |
| ENT | 8,167 | 65% | 162 | 13 weeks |
| Urology | 3,146 | 68% | 30 | 11 weeks |
| Ophthalmology | 6,632 | 69% | 75 | 12 weeks |
| Dermatology | 6,888 | 69% | 107 | 11 weeks |
| Respiratory medicine | 2,144 | 78% | 8 | 8 weeks |
| Neurosurgery | 1,042 | 79% | 8 | 10 weeks |
| Neurology | 1,978 | 79% | 7 | 10 weeks |
| Cardiothoracic surgery | 245 | 83% | 0 | 6 weeks |
| Cardiology | 1,243 | 85% | 6 | 7 weeks |
| Rheumatology | 473 | 87% | 0 | 7 weeks |
Diagnostic test waiting times at Nottingham University Hospitals
| Test | People waiting | Waiting beyond 6 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Gastroscopy | 1,427 | 54% |
| Flexible sigmoidoscopy | 356 | 48% |
| Ultrasound | 6,096 | 46% |
| Echocardiography | 3,158 | 42% |
| Nerve conduction studies | 351 | 42% |
| MRI | 6,581 | 41% |
| Colonoscopy | 813 | 41% |
| CT | 4,537 | 40% |
| DEXA scan | 823 | 27% |
| Audiology | 653 | 18% |
| Cystoscopy | 155 | 12% |
| Sleep studies | 423 | 7% |
The six-week point is where the NHS counts a diagnostic wait as a breach; at Nottingham University Hospitals the longest was gastroscopy, with 54% past it and 1,427 people in the queue.
Skip the 18-week wait
Waiting 18 weeks for oral surgery at Nottingham University 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 Nottingham University 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 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.