At a glance: 42,639 people were waiting for NHS treatment at Somerset in June 2026, spread across 16 specialties, and 1,051 of them had already waited more than a year. The hardest specialty to be seen quickly was oral surgery — only 45% of patients seen within the 18-week target and a median wait of 20 weeks — while plastic surgery was quickest at 94%.
Treatment waiting times at Somerset
| Specialty | People waiting | Seen within 18 weeks | Waiting over a year | Median wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oral surgery | 3,535 | 45% | 183 | 20 weeks |
| Urology | 2,940 | 52% | 150 | 17 weeks |
| Gynaecology | 3,910 | 56% | 73 | 15 weeks |
| ENT | 4,841 | 58% | 190 | 14 weeks |
| General surgery | 2,730 | 61% | 44 | 14 weeks |
| Rheumatology | 888 | 62% | 6 | 12 weeks |
| Trauma & orthopaedics | 9,045 | 65% | 333 | 11 weeks |
| Neurology | 1,134 | 67% | 5 | 11 weeks |
| Cardiology | 2,706 | 68% | 8 | 12 weeks |
| Gastroenterology | 2,031 | 72% | 4 | 10 weeks |
| Elderly medicine | 679 | 77% | 2 | 10 weeks |
| Dermatology | 3,420 | 78% | 33 | 6 weeks |
| Ophthalmology | 3,029 | 79% | 19 | 8 weeks |
| General medicine | 62 | 79% | 0 | 12 weeks |
| Respiratory medicine | 1,532 | 86% | 1 | 7 weeks |
| Plastic surgery | 157 | 94% | 0 | 6 weeks |
Diagnostic test waiting times at Somerset
| Test | People waiting | Waiting beyond 6 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Flexible sigmoidoscopy | 425 | 46% |
| Urodynamics | 168 | 42% |
| Gastroscopy | 802 | 39% |
| Colonoscopy | 803 | 34% |
| DEXA scan | 701 | 29% |
| Nerve conduction studies | 362 | 24% |
| MRI | 2,069 | 14% |
| Cystoscopy | 93 | 13% |
| Ultrasound | 3,795 | 10% |
| Audiology | 1,229 | 10% |
| Echocardiography | 778 | 9% |
| Barium enema | 86 | 7% |
| Sleep studies | 192 | 7% |
| CT | 780 | 5% |
The six-week point is where the NHS counts a diagnostic wait as a breach; at Somerset the longest was flexible sigmoidoscopy, with 46% past it and 425 people in the queue.
Skip the 20-week wait
Waiting 20 weeks for oral surgery at Somerset 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 Somerset? 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.