At a glance: 25,763 people were waiting for NHS treatment at West Suffolk in June 2026, spread across 14 specialties, and 385 of them had already waited more than a year. The hardest specialty to be seen quickly was trauma & orthopaedics — only 52% of patients seen within the 18-week target and a median wait of 17 weeks — while rheumatology was quickest at 91%.
Treatment waiting times at West Suffolk
| Specialty | People waiting | Seen within 18 weeks | Waiting over a year | Median wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trauma & orthopaedics | 4,438 | 52% | 85 | 17 weeks |
| Gynaecology | 3,143 | 53% | 166 | 16 weeks |
| General surgery | 2,212 | 54% | 59 | 15 weeks |
| Plastic surgery | 813 | 54% | 22 | 16 weeks |
| Urology | 2,121 | 64% | 5 | 13 weeks |
| Neurology | 874 | 65% | 4 | 13 weeks |
| Gastroenterology | 879 | 69% | 9 | 10 weeks |
| ENT | 3,008 | 70% | 20 | 11 weeks |
| Ophthalmology | 2,370 | 73% | 3 | 11 weeks |
| Respiratory medicine | 638 | 74% | 0 | 10 weeks |
| General medicine | 640 | 75% | 2 | 9 weeks |
| Cardiology | 1,206 | 80% | 5 | 8 weeks |
| Dermatology | 2,622 | 88% | 5 | 6 weeks |
| Rheumatology | 799 | 91% | 0 | 8 weeks |
Diagnostic test waiting times at West Suffolk
| Test | People waiting | Waiting beyond 6 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Colonoscopy | 425 | 52% |
| Flexible sigmoidoscopy | 229 | 52% |
| Gastroscopy | 613 | 52% |
| Audiology | 730 | 24% |
| Cystoscopy | 79 | 15% |
| Ultrasound | 2,293 | 7% |
| MRI | 875 | 4% |
| CT | 600 | 1% |
| DEXA scan | 157 | 1% |
| Echocardiography | 721 | 1% |
The six-week point is where the NHS counts a diagnostic wait as a breach; at West Suffolk the longest was colonoscopy, with 52% past it and 425 people in the queue.
Skip the 17-week wait
Waiting 17 weeks for trauma & orthopaedics at West Suffolk 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 West Suffolk? 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.