At a glance: 49,498 people were waiting for NHS treatment at Portsmouth Hospitals University in June 2026, spread across 14 specialties, and 1,787 of them had already waited more than a year. The hardest specialty to be seen quickly was oral surgery — only 43% of patients seen within the 18-week target and a median wait of 20 weeks — while rheumatology was quickest at 98%.
Treatment waiting times at Portsmouth Hospitals University
| Specialty | People waiting | Seen within 18 weeks | Waiting over a year | Median wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oral surgery | 4,304 | 43% | 405 | 20 weeks |
| Trauma & orthopaedics | 5,210 | 49% | 150 | 18 weeks |
| ENT | 7,049 | 55% | 498 | 15 weeks |
| Gynaecology | 5,001 | 56% | 147 | 15 weeks |
| Ophthalmology | 6,750 | 59% | 139 | 14 weeks |
| Plastic surgery | 467 | 62% | 17 | 11 weeks |
| Dermatology | 3,988 | 66% | 48 | 10 weeks |
| General surgery | 5,869 | 69% | 175 | 9 weeks |
| Gastroenterology | 4,141 | 70% | 142 | 10 weeks |
| Cardiology | 3,165 | 72% | 5 | 10 weeks |
| Urology | 2,412 | 73% | 61 | 11 weeks |
| Elderly medicine | 58 | 86% | 0 | 4 weeks |
| Respiratory medicine | 588 | 96% | 0 | 6 weeks |
| Rheumatology | 496 | 98% | 0 | 4 weeks |
Diagnostic test waiting times at Portsmouth Hospitals University
| Test | People waiting | Waiting beyond 6 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Nerve conduction studies | 1,824 | 85% |
| Colonoscopy | 1,593 | 80% |
| Audiology | 4,980 | 78% |
| Gastroscopy | 670 | 71% |
| Sleep studies | 752 | 69% |
| Flexible sigmoidoscopy | 261 | 66% |
| MRI | 2,856 | 48% |
| DEXA scan | 639 | 34% |
| Cystoscopy | 106 | 29% |
| Echocardiography | 1,482 | 26% |
| CT | 1,002 | 12% |
| Ultrasound | 3,609 | 4% |
| Barium enema | 159 | 1% |
The six-week point is where the NHS counts a diagnostic wait as a breach; at Portsmouth Hospitals University the longest was nerve conduction studies, with 85% past it and 1,824 people in the queue.
Skip the 20-week wait
Waiting 20 weeks for oral surgery at Portsmouth Hospitals University 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 Portsmouth Hospitals University? 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.