At a glance: 61,251 people were waiting for NHS treatment at Oxford University Hospitals in June 2026, spread across 16 specialties, and 1,462 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 18 weeks — while elderly medicine was quickest at 90%.
Treatment waiting times at Oxford University Hospitals
| Specialty | People waiting | Seen within 18 weeks | Waiting over a year | Median wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oral surgery | 3,303 | 48% | 135 | 18 weeks |
| Ophthalmology | 5,254 | 52% | 220 | 17 weeks |
| Dermatology | 6,511 | 53% | 174 | 16 weeks |
| Trauma & orthopaedics | 8,079 | 55% | 204 | 15 weeks |
| ENT | 7,119 | 55% | 198 | 16 weeks |
| Urology | 4,411 | 56% | 74 | 15 weeks |
| Neurology | 3,214 | 58% | 4 | 14 weeks |
| Gynaecology | 7,397 | 58% | 364 | 14 weeks |
| Plastic surgery | 1,828 | 62% | 21 | 13 weeks |
| Gastroenterology | 3,956 | 67% | 42 | 11 weeks |
| General surgery | 1,686 | 70% | 16 | 10 weeks |
| Cardiology | 3,961 | 70% | 5 | 10 weeks |
| Neurosurgery | 1,091 | 77% | 3 | 10 weeks |
| Respiratory medicine | 1,443 | 87% | 0 | 7 weeks |
| Rheumatology | 1,322 | 89% | 2 | 6 weeks |
| Elderly medicine | 676 | 90% | 0 | 6 weeks |
Diagnostic test waiting times at Oxford University Hospitals
| Test | People waiting | Waiting beyond 6 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Audiology | 1,639 | 76% |
| Gastroscopy | 1,062 | 73% |
| Colonoscopy | 979 | 64% |
| Flexible sigmoidoscopy | 286 | 57% |
| Nerve conduction studies | 213 | 30% |
| Sleep studies | 344 | 30% |
| MRI | 4,872 | 17% |
| Cystoscopy | 232 | 15% |
| Urodynamics | 107 | 10% |
| Ultrasound | 5,377 | 3% |
| Echocardiography | 297 | 3% |
| CT | 2,666 | 0% |
| Barium enema | 118 | 0% |
| DEXA scan | 1,025 | 0% |
The six-week point is where the NHS counts a diagnostic wait as a breach; at Oxford University Hospitals the longest was audiology, with 76% past it and 1,639 people in the queue.
Skip the 18-week wait
Waiting 18 weeks for oral surgery at Oxford 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 Oxford 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.