At a glance: 62,646 people were waiting for NHS treatment at University Hospitals of North Midlands in June 2026, spread across 16 specialties, and 1,312 of them had already waited more than a year. The hardest specialty to be seen quickly was trauma & orthopaedics — only 53% of patients seen within the 18-week target and a median wait of 16 weeks — while elderly medicine was quickest at 96%.
Treatment waiting times at University Hospitals of North Midlands
| Specialty | People waiting | Seen within 18 weeks | Waiting over a year | Median wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trauma & orthopaedics | 5,199 | 53% | 153 | 16 weeks |
| Neurology | 5,915 | 55% | 12 | 16 weeks |
| Oral surgery | 3,938 | 55% | 195 | 16 weeks |
| Ophthalmology | 5,905 | 57% | 208 | 15 weeks |
| ENT | 4,031 | 59% | 153 | 14 weeks |
| Gynaecology | 5,292 | 60% | 192 | 14 weeks |
| Cardiology | 4,727 | 61% | 68 | 12 weeks |
| Neurosurgery | 572 | 61% | 9 | 14 weeks |
| General surgery | 9,151 | 62% | 277 | 13 weeks |
| Urology | 4,209 | 63% | 37 | 13 weeks |
| Gastroenterology | 5,457 | 66% | 1 | 13 weeks |
| Respiratory medicine | 5,134 | 72% | 0 | 11 weeks |
| Plastic surgery | 1,250 | 74% | 6 | 7 weeks |
| Cardiothoracic surgery | 214 | 79% | 0 | 9 weeks |
| Dermatology | 1,596 | 82% | 1 | 5 weeks |
| Elderly medicine | 56 | 96% | 0 | 7 weeks |
Diagnostic test waiting times at University Hospitals of North Midlands
| Test | People waiting | Waiting beyond 6 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Echocardiography | 1,519 | 69% |
| MRI | 6,753 | 31% |
| Nerve conduction studies | 413 | 20% |
| Audiology | 419 | 16% |
| Colonoscopy | 319 | 13% |
| Sleep studies | 1,019 | 11% |
| Gastroscopy | 633 | 10% |
| Ultrasound | 3,637 | 8% |
| Cystoscopy | 192 | 7% |
| Flexible sigmoidoscopy | 83 | 6% |
| CT | 3,141 | 3% |
The six-week point is where the NHS counts a diagnostic wait as a breach; at University Hospitals of North Midlands the longest was echocardiography, with 69% past it and 1,519 people in the queue.
Skip the 16-week wait
Waiting 16 weeks for trauma & orthopaedics at University Hospitals of North Midlands 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 North Midlands? 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.