At a glance: 29,314 people were waiting for NHS treatment at Sherwood Forest Hospitals in June 2026, spread across 14 specialties, and 364 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 100%.
Treatment waiting times at Sherwood Forest Hospitals
| Specialty | People waiting | Seen within 18 weeks | Waiting over a year | Median wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oral surgery | 1,350 | 48% | 51 | 18 weeks |
| Plastic surgery | 115 | 55% | 0 | 13 weeks |
| General surgery | 4,332 | 56% | 46 | 15 weeks |
| Trauma & orthopaedics | 3,005 | 61% | 25 | 13 weeks |
| Ophthalmology | 3,120 | 61% | 5 | 14 weeks |
| Gynaecology | 3,301 | 63% | 131 | 12 weeks |
| Cardiology | 1,960 | 64% | 17 | 13 weeks |
| Gastroenterology | 2,930 | 66% | 44 | 11 weeks |
| ENT | 3,403 | 67% | 33 | 12 weeks |
| Urology | 2,019 | 71% | 11 | 10 weeks |
| Dermatology | 1,945 | 74% | 1 | 8 weeks |
| Respiratory medicine | 1,570 | 91% | 0 | 8 weeks |
| Rheumatology | 169 | 99% | 0 | 3 weeks |
| Elderly medicine | 95 | 100% | 0 | 3 weeks |
Diagnostic test waiting times at Sherwood Forest Hospitals
| Test | People waiting | Waiting beyond 6 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Ultrasound | 5,070 | 17% |
| DEXA scan | 721 | 15% |
| Flexible sigmoidoscopy | 92 | 15% |
| Cystoscopy | 132 | 14% |
| Gastroscopy | 494 | 14% |
| Colonoscopy | 305 | 11% |
| CT | 943 | 10% |
| Urodynamics | 64 | 9% |
| Audiology | 704 | 7% |
| MRI | 2,350 | 3% |
| Sleep studies | 337 | 3% |
| Echocardiography | 729 | 2% |
The six-week point is where the NHS counts a diagnostic wait as a breach; at Sherwood Forest Hospitals the longest was ultrasound, with 17% past it and 5,070 people in the queue.
Skip the 18-week wait
Waiting 18 weeks for oral surgery at Sherwood Forest 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 Sherwood Forest 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.