At a glance: 47,603 people were waiting for NHS treatment at St George's University Hospitals in June 2026, spread across 18 specialties, and 428 of them had already waited more than a year. The hardest specialty to be seen quickly was general surgery — only 46% of patients seen within the 18-week target and a median wait of 20 weeks — while elderly medicine was quickest at 100%.
Treatment waiting times at St George's University Hospitals
| Specialty | People waiting | Seen within 18 weeks | Waiting over a year | Median wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General surgery | 1,153 | 46% | 35 | 20 weeks |
| Ophthalmology | 91 | 51% | 0 | 17 weeks |
| Gynaecology | 4,206 | 54% | 88 | 16 weeks |
| Neurosurgery | 3,996 | 57% | 17 | 14 weeks |
| ENT | 5,114 | 62% | 8 | 13 weeks |
| Oral surgery | 1,587 | 62% | 85 | 13 weeks |
| Cardiology | 5,851 | 63% | 108 | 13 weeks |
| Respiratory medicine | 3,253 | 63% | 8 | 12 weeks |
| Neurology | 4,432 | 64% | 3 | 12 weeks |
| Trauma & orthopaedics | 3,986 | 66% | 7 | 12 weeks |
| Dermatology | 5,088 | 66% | 34 | 11 weeks |
| Plastic surgery | 1,500 | 67% | 7 | 10 weeks |
| Urology | 2,880 | 67% | 4 | 11 weeks |
| Gastroenterology | 2,547 | 73% | 7 | 9 weeks |
| Rheumatology | 1,436 | 74% | 14 | 8 weeks |
| General medicine | 122 | 86% | 3 | 3 weeks |
| Cardiothoracic surgery | 310 | 98% | 0 | 5 weeks |
| Elderly medicine | 51 | 100% | 0 | 2 weeks |
Diagnostic test waiting times at St George's University Hospitals
| Test | People waiting | Waiting beyond 6 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Sleep studies | 658 | 30% |
| Ultrasound | 8,221 | 24% |
| Flexible sigmoidoscopy | 103 | 18% |
| Colonoscopy | 298 | 16% |
| Gastroscopy | 497 | 13% |
| Urodynamics | 52 | 12% |
| Echocardiography | 1,627 | 7% |
| Cystoscopy | 100 | 6% |
| Nerve conduction studies | 309 | 5% |
| MRI | 2,826 | 3% |
| CT | 1,204 | 0% |
| DEXA scan | 358 | 0% |
The six-week point is where the NHS counts a diagnostic wait as a breach; at St George's University Hospitals the longest was sleep studies, with 30% past it and 658 people in the queue.
Skip the 20-week wait
Waiting 20 weeks for general surgery at St George's University Hospitals 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 St George's University 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 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.