At a glance: 100,314 people were waiting for NHS treatment at Royal Free London in June 2026, spread across 16 specialties, and 1,211 of them had already waited more than a year. The hardest specialty to be seen quickly was general surgery — only 42% of patients seen within the 18-week target and a median wait of 21 weeks — while elderly medicine was quickest at 95%.
Treatment waiting times at Royal Free London
| Specialty | People waiting | Seen within 18 weeks | Waiting over a year | Median wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General surgery | 4,105 | 42% | 189 | 21 weeks |
| Trauma & orthopaedics | 10,880 | 51% | 483 | 17 weeks |
| Urology | 9,327 | 54% | 90 | 16 weeks |
| Rheumatology | 3,153 | 59% | 1 | 15 weeks |
| Neurology | 6,137 | 59% | 6 | 13 weeks |
| Oral surgery | 4,856 | 60% | 17 | 14 weeks |
| ENT | 10,138 | 60% | 229 | 14 weeks |
| Cardiology | 8,586 | 62% | 17 | 14 weeks |
| Plastic surgery | 3,049 | 65% | 37 | 12 weeks |
| Gynaecology | 8,540 | 66% | 112 | 12 weeks |
| Ophthalmology | 7,413 | 67% | 1 | 11 weeks |
| General medicine | 305 | 67% | 0 | 8 weeks |
| Gastroenterology | 8,667 | 69% | 16 | 11 weeks |
| Respiratory medicine | 5,660 | 75% | 9 | 10 weeks |
| Dermatology | 9,379 | 81% | 4 | 8 weeks |
| Elderly medicine | 119 | 95% | 0 | 5 weeks |
Diagnostic test waiting times at Royal Free London
| Test | People waiting | Waiting beyond 6 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Colonoscopy | 2,294 | 50% |
| Flexible sigmoidoscopy | 363 | 41% |
| Gastroscopy | 1,367 | 38% |
| DEXA scan | 1,887 | 32% |
| Urodynamics | 141 | 28% |
| Ultrasound | 14,160 | 26% |
| Cystoscopy | 359 | 24% |
| Barium enema | 180 | 21% |
| Echocardiography | 3,746 | 18% |
| MRI | 5,154 | 8% |
| CT | 3,214 | 8% |
| Nerve conduction studies | 233 | 2% |
| Sleep studies | 421 | 2% |
| Audiology | 404 | 1% |
The six-week point is where the NHS counts a diagnostic wait as a breach; at Royal Free London the longest was colonoscopy, with 50% past it and 2,294 people in the queue.
Skip the 21-week wait
Waiting 21 weeks for general surgery at Royal Free London 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 Royal Free London? 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.