At a glance: 75,181 people were waiting for NHS treatment at University Hospitals of Derby and Burton in June 2026, spread across 16 specialties, and 1,665 of them had already waited more than a year. The hardest specialty to be seen quickly was trauma & orthopaedics — only 49% of patients seen within the 18-week target and a median wait of 18 weeks — while rheumatology was quickest at 92%.
Treatment waiting times at University Hospitals of Derby and Burton
| Specialty | People waiting | Seen within 18 weeks | Waiting over a year | Median wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trauma & orthopaedics | 17,401 | 49% | 861 | 18 weeks |
| Neurology | 3,422 | 51% | 33 | 17 weeks |
| ENT | 9,405 | 54% | 108 | 16 weeks |
| Neurosurgery | 176 | 54% | 1 | 15 weeks |
| General surgery | 4,585 | 58% | 131 | 14 weeks |
| Gynaecology | 7,986 | 58% | 251 | 14 weeks |
| Urology | 3,486 | 67% | 57 | 10 weeks |
| Ophthalmology | 9,621 | 67% | 78 | 12 weeks |
| Dermatology | 5,725 | 67% | 7 | 10 weeks |
| Gastroenterology | 4,105 | 69% | 75 | 9 weeks |
| Cardiology | 3,124 | 74% | 26 | 10 weeks |
| Plastic surgery | 404 | 74% | 5 | 8 weeks |
| Oral surgery | 2,261 | 75% | 28 | 9 weeks |
| Respiratory medicine | 1,628 | 79% | 2 | 9 weeks |
| Elderly medicine | 298 | 91% | 0 | 4 weeks |
| Rheumatology | 1,554 | 92% | 2 | 7 weeks |
Diagnostic test waiting times at University Hospitals of Derby and Burton
| Test | People waiting | Waiting beyond 6 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Urodynamics | 171 | 64% |
| Audiology | 1,863 | 61% |
| Flexible sigmoidoscopy | 656 | 59% |
| Gastroscopy | 1,489 | 48% |
| Nerve conduction studies | 1,257 | 45% |
| MRI | 6,813 | 44% |
| Colonoscopy | 1,120 | 42% |
| Echocardiography | 3,981 | 30% |
| Sleep studies | 500 | 29% |
| CT | 2,164 | 21% |
| Cystoscopy | 295 | 18% |
| Ultrasound | 7,666 | 17% |
| DEXA scan | 614 | 2% |
The six-week point is where the NHS counts a diagnostic wait as a breach; at University Hospitals of Derby and Burton the longest was urodynamics, with 64% past it and 171 people in the queue.
Skip the 18-week wait
Waiting 18 weeks for trauma & orthopaedics at University Hospitals of Derby and Burton 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 University Hospitals of Derby and Burton? 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.