At a glance: 35,431 people were waiting for NHS treatment at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital in June 2026, spread across 14 specialties, and none had yet waited more than a year. The hardest specialty to be seen quickly was trauma & orthopaedics — 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 The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital
| Specialty | People waiting | Seen within 18 weeks | Waiting over a year | Median wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trauma & orthopaedics | 2,249 | 48% | 0 | 18 weeks |
| Oral surgery | 2,492 | 59% | 0 | 14 weeks |
| ENT | 4,281 | 62% | 0 | 14 weeks |
| Gynaecology | 4,407 | 62% | 0 | 14 weeks |
| Urology | 1,966 | 66% | 0 | 12 weeks |
| Respiratory medicine | 1,709 | 68% | 0 | 13 weeks |
| General surgery | 4,723 | 72% | 0 | 9 weeks |
| Cardiology | 2,822 | 72% | 0 | 10 weeks |
| Ophthalmology | 3,756 | 76% | 0 | 10 weeks |
| Dermatology | 3,471 | 80% | 0 | 9 weeks |
| General medicine | 1,325 | 83% | 0 | 8 weeks |
| Cardiothoracic surgery | 86 | 87% | 0 | 9 weeks |
| Gastroenterology | 1,894 | 88% | 0 | 8 weeks |
| Elderly medicine | 250 | 100% | 0 | 6 weeks |
Diagnostic test waiting times at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital
| Test | People waiting | Waiting beyond 6 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Urodynamics | 247 | 72% |
| Ultrasound | 5,563 | 32% |
| Echocardiography | 1,812 | 24% |
| MRI | 2,602 | 16% |
| Cystoscopy | 558 | 16% |
| Audiology | 1,637 | 15% |
| Sleep studies | 423 | 3% |
| Gastroscopy | 422 | 3% |
| Flexible sigmoidoscopy | 226 | 2% |
| Colonoscopy | 545 | 1% |
| CT | 1,741 | 0% |
The six-week point is where the NHS counts a diagnostic wait as a breach; at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital the longest was urodynamics, with 72% past it and 247 people in the queue.
Skip the 18-week wait
Waiting 18 weeks for trauma & orthopaedics at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital is a long time to be in pain or limbo. A self-pay hip replacement costs around £16,225, 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 The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital? 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 trauma & orthopaedics 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.