At a glance: 33,870 people were waiting for NHS treatment at University Hospitals Plymouth in June 2026, spread across 15 specialties, and 558 of them had already waited more than a year. The hardest specialty to be seen quickly was trauma & orthopaedics — only 55% of patients seen within the 18-week target and a median wait of 16 weeks — while general medicine was quickest at 94%.
Treatment waiting times at University Hospitals Plymouth
| Specialty | People waiting | Seen within 18 weeks | Waiting over a year | Median wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trauma & orthopaedics | 3,423 | 55% | 205 | 16 weeks |
| Cardiothoracic surgery | 541 | 56% | 19 | 15 weeks |
| Cardiology | 3,102 | 58% | 47 | 15 weeks |
| Neurosurgery | 1,916 | 61% | 59 | 13 weeks |
| Gynaecology | 2,962 | 61% | 84 | 14 weeks |
| Urology | 2,867 | 65% | 50 | 10 weeks |
| Respiratory medicine | 1,867 | 67% | 11 | 11 weeks |
| Ophthalmology | 5,740 | 69% | 37 | 10 weeks |
| Gastroenterology | 1,339 | 69% | 1 | 10 weeks |
| Plastic surgery | 1,053 | 70% | 14 | 7 weeks |
| Neurology | 2,059 | 70% | 13 | 11 weeks |
| ENT | 4,073 | 73% | 18 | 10 weeks |
| Rheumatology | 519 | 87% | 0 | 5 weeks |
| Dermatology | 2,355 | 90% | 0 | 4 weeks |
| General medicine | 54 | 94% | 0 | 1 weeks |
Diagnostic test waiting times at University Hospitals Plymouth
| Test | People waiting | Waiting beyond 6 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Urodynamics | 244 | 59% |
| Sleep studies | 432 | 39% |
| Audiology | 1,358 | 35% |
| Nerve conduction studies | 451 | 35% |
| MRI | 3,182 | 25% |
| Cystoscopy | 121 | 21% |
| CT | 2,323 | 17% |
| Colonoscopy | 268 | 12% |
| Ultrasound | 3,539 | 11% |
| Gastroscopy | 265 | 10% |
| Echocardiography | 767 | 8% |
| Flexible sigmoidoscopy | 99 | 8% |
| DEXA scan | 408 | 2% |
The six-week point is where the NHS counts a diagnostic wait as a breach; at University Hospitals Plymouth the longest was urodynamics, with 59% past it and 244 people in the queue.
Skip the 16-week wait
Waiting 16 weeks for trauma & orthopaedics at University Hospitals Plymouth 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 Plymouth? 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.