At a glance: 86,763 people were waiting for NHS treatment at University Hospitals Sussex in June 2026, spread across 16 specialties, and 3,522 of them had already waited more than a year. The hardest specialty to be seen quickly was general surgery — only 34% of patients seen within the 18-week target and a median wait of 27 weeks — while respiratory medicine was quickest at 76%.
Treatment waiting times at University Hospitals Sussex
| Specialty | People waiting | Seen within 18 weeks | Waiting over a year | Median wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General surgery | 2,806 | 34% | 311 | 27 weeks |
| Oral surgery | 8,528 | 42% | 709 | 21 weeks |
| Neurology | 4,805 | 43% | 46 | 21 weeks |
| Trauma & orthopaedics | 7,525 | 48% | 373 | 19 weeks |
| ENT | 7,999 | 48% | 193 | 18 weeks |
| Gynaecology | 10,599 | 52% | 537 | 16 weeks |
| Urology | 6,082 | 54% | 190 | 16 weeks |
| Ophthalmology | 12,804 | 54% | 309 | 16 weeks |
| Gastroenterology | 4,935 | 55% | 48 | 15 weeks |
| Neurosurgery | 504 | 56% | 5 | 15 weeks |
| Dermatology | 8,512 | 58% | 755 | 12 weeks |
| Cardiology | 8,413 | 58% | 27 | 14 weeks |
| Rheumatology | 1,148 | 61% | 3 | 13 weeks |
| Elderly medicine | 159 | 66% | 6 | 12 weeks |
| Cardiothoracic surgery | 138 | 70% | 0 | 10 weeks |
| Respiratory medicine | 1,806 | 76% | 10 | 8 weeks |
Diagnostic test waiting times at University Hospitals Sussex
| Test | People waiting | Waiting beyond 6 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Audiology | 735 | 59% |
| Flexible sigmoidoscopy | 771 | 47% |
| Urodynamics | 108 | 36% |
| Colonoscopy | 1,504 | 36% |
| Nerve conduction studies | 978 | 30% |
| Gastroscopy | 902 | 21% |
| Cystoscopy | 198 | 19% |
| CT | 2,361 | 9% |
| Ultrasound | 7,134 | 7% |
| MRI | 3,143 | 6% |
| Sleep studies | 125 | 3% |
| Echocardiography | 2,606 | 1% |
The six-week point is where the NHS counts a diagnostic wait as a breach; at University Hospitals Sussex the longest was audiology, with 59% past it and 735 people in the queue.
Skip the 27-week wait
Waiting 27 weeks for general surgery at University Hospitals Sussex is a long time to be in pain or limbo. A self-pay hernia repair costs around £3,668, 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 Sussex? 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 general surgery 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.