At a glance: 25,785 people were waiting for NHS treatment at Royal Surrey in June 2026, spread across 13 specialties, and 395 of them had already waited more than a year. The hardest specialty to be seen quickly was oral surgery — only 49% of patients seen within the 18-week target and a median wait of 18 weeks — while rheumatology was quickest at 93%.
Treatment waiting times at Royal Surrey
| Specialty | People waiting | Seen within 18 weeks | Waiting over a year | Median wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oral surgery | 3,862 | 49% | 32 | 18 weeks |
| Gastroenterology | 1,333 | 57% | 48 | 15 weeks |
| Trauma & orthopaedics | 5,797 | 58% | 228 | 14 weeks |
| ENT | 3,240 | 60% | 37 | 14 weeks |
| Neurology | 705 | 61% | 3 | 14 weeks |
| Ophthalmology | 2,257 | 62% | 3 | 13 weeks |
| Cardiology | 1,115 | 62% | 2 | 13 weeks |
| Gynaecology | 2,325 | 63% | 37 | 13 weeks |
| Urology | 1,392 | 75% | 0 | 9 weeks |
| General surgery | 2,938 | 78% | 4 | 9 weeks |
| Respiratory medicine | 383 | 85% | 0 | 8 weeks |
| Plastic surgery | 148 | 88% | 1 | 7 weeks |
| Rheumatology | 290 | 93% | 0 | 5 weeks |
Diagnostic test waiting times at Royal Surrey
| Test | People waiting | Waiting beyond 6 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Audiology | 893 | 52% |
| Nerve conduction studies | 110 | 43% |
| DEXA scan | 134 | 10% |
| Cystoscopy | 118 | 9% |
| Echocardiography | 518 | 4% |
| CT | 613 | 1% |
| Ultrasound | 2,416 | 1% |
| Colonoscopy | 253 | 1% |
| MRI | 1,021 | 0% |
| Flexible sigmoidoscopy | 69 | 0% |
| Gastroscopy | 201 | 0% |
The six-week point is where the NHS counts a diagnostic wait as a breach; at Royal Surrey the longest was audiology, with 52% past it and 893 people in the queue.
Skip the 18-week wait
Waiting 18 weeks for oral surgery at Royal Surrey 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 Royal Surrey? 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.