At a glance: 51,930 people were waiting for NHS treatment at University Hospitals Dorset in June 2026, spread across 15 specialties, and 538 of them had already waited more than a year. The hardest specialty to be seen quickly was gynaecology — only 53% of patients seen within the 18-week target and a median wait of 17 weeks — while general medicine was quickest at 100%.
Treatment waiting times at University Hospitals Dorset
| Specialty | People waiting | Seen within 18 weeks | Waiting over a year | Median wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gynaecology | 6,869 | 53% | 205 | 17 weeks |
| Trauma & orthopaedics | 8,048 | 55% | 209 | 16 weeks |
| Oral surgery | 3,094 | 55% | 12 | 16 weeks |
| ENT | 6,049 | 60% | 5 | 14 weeks |
| Respiratory medicine | 1,555 | 66% | 0 | 12 weeks |
| Dermatology | 4,544 | 68% | 39 | 10 weeks |
| Urology | 2,574 | 69% | 58 | 9 weeks |
| Ophthalmology | 5,135 | 73% | 2 | 11 weeks |
| Neurology | 1,813 | 78% | 0 | 10 weeks |
| Elderly medicine | 763 | 81% | 0 | 8 weeks |
| Cardiology | 3,868 | 82% | 0 | 10 weeks |
| Gastroenterology | 5,070 | 83% | 1 | 9 weeks |
| Rheumatology | 1,237 | 88% | 0 | 8 weeks |
| General surgery | 1,106 | 94% | 7 | 3 weeks |
| General medicine | 205 | 100% | 0 | 7 weeks |
Diagnostic test waiting times at University Hospitals Dorset
| Test | People waiting | Waiting beyond 6 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Echocardiography | 2,232 | 42% |
| Flexible sigmoidoscopy | 498 | 29% |
| Cystoscopy | 121 | 26% |
| Colonoscopy | 1,167 | 23% |
| Gastroscopy | 895 | 10% |
| Nerve conduction studies | 556 | 8% |
| MRI | 2,604 | 3% |
| Ultrasound | 1,956 | 1% |
| DEXA scan | 336 | 1% |
| CT | 1,695 | 0% |
| Sleep studies | 177 | 0% |
The six-week point is where the NHS counts a diagnostic wait as a breach; at University Hospitals Dorset the longest was echocardiography, with 42% past it and 2,232 people in the queue.
Skip the 17-week wait
Waiting 17 weeks for gynaecology at University Hospitals Dorset is a long time to be in pain or limbo. A self-pay hysteroscopy costs around £3,119, 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 University Hospitals Dorset? 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 gynaecology 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.