Waiting times for appointments

We are experiencing a significant backlog in appointments for some of our services following our response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Please be assured that we are doing everything in our power to work through our lists to give you the help that you need. We are making good progress and have significantly reduced the number of patients classed as long waiters. 

You can take a look at the current waiting times for our services below:

Last updated: 19/09/24	Referral Waits
Current Terminology	Urgent	Routine
Cardiology (heart conditions)	40 - 45 weeks	40 - 45 weeks
Cardiology technicians (heart tests)	30 - 35 weeks	40 - 45 weeks
Diabetic medicine	15 - 20 weeks	20 - 25 weeks
Endocrinology (hormones)	15 - 20 weeks	30 - 35 weeks
Gastroenterology (digestive system)	15 - 20 weeks	20 - 25 weeks
Geriatric medicine (older persons)	0 weeks	5 - 10 weeks
Hepatology (liver)	20 - 25 weeks	30 - 35 weeks
Nephrology (kidneys)	5 - 10 weeks	40 - 45 weeks
Neurology (brain/spinal cord)	20 - 25 weeks	30 - 35 weeks
Respiratory medicine (chest and lungs)	20 - 25 weeks	30 - 35 weeks
Rheumatology (immune disorders)	5 - 10 weeks	5 - 10 weeks
Sleep studies	20 - 25 weeks	20 - 25 weeks
Clinical immunology and allergy	20 - 25 weeks	20 - 25 weeks
Chemical pathology (monitoring of bodily fluids)		30 - 35 weeks
Audiological medicine (hearing and balance)	5 - 10 weeks	30 - 35 weeks
Audiology (hearing tests)	5 - 10 weeks	5 - 10 weeks
Breast surgery	0 weeks	10 - 15 weeks
Ear, nose and throat	10 - 15 weeks	40 - 45 weeks
General surgery (hernias/lumps and bumps)	10 - 15 weeks	15 - 20 weeks
Gynaecological oncology	0 - 5 weeks	0 - 5 weeks
Maxillo-facial surgery (jaw/mouth/face surgery)	5 - 10 weeks	40 - 45 weeks
Medical ophthalmology (treatment of eye disorders)	1 - 5 weeks	15 - 20 weeks
Ophthalmology (eye disorder treatment and surgery)	20 - 25 weeks	30 - 35 weeks
Optometry		20 - 25 weeks
Orthodontics (straightening of teeth)	1 - 5 weeks	1 - 5 weeks
Orthoptics (diagnosis of defects in eye movement)	10 - 15 weeks	20 - 25 weeks
Pain management	20 - 25 weeks	30 - 35 weeks
Plastic surgery	10 - 15 weeks	15 - 20 weeks
Trauma and orthopaedics	10 - 15 weeks	30 - 35 weeks
Urology (kidneys, ureters, bladders and prostate disorders)	10 - 15 weeks	30 - 35 weeks
Gynaecology	15 - 20 weeks	15 - 20 weeks
Paediatrics (not covered in the list below)	5 - 10 weeks	10 - 15 weeks
Paediatrics - dermatology	5 - 10 weeks	30 - 35 weeks
Paediatrics - cardiology (children's heart conditions)	5 - 10 weeks	30 - 35 weeks
Paediatrics - clinical immunology and allergy	5 - 10 weeks	20 - 25 weeks
Paediatrics - endocrinology (childrens' hormone conditions)	10 - 15 weeks	15 - 20 weeks
Paediatric - epilepsy	1 - 5 weeks	1 - 5 weeks
Paediatrics - gastroenterology (childrens' digestive systems)	10 - 15 weeks	15 - 20 weeks
Paediatrics - nephrology (childrens' kidney conditions)	1 - 5 weeks	15 - 20 weeks
Paediatrics - child development	1 - 5 weeks	20 - 25 weeks
Paediatrics - rheumatology (childrens' immune disorders)	10 - 15 weeks	15 - 20 weeks
Paediatrics - surgery (childrens' hernias, lumps and bumps)	20 - 25 weeks	30 - 35 weeks
Paediatrics - Urology	20 - 25 weeks	20 - 25 weeks
Paediatrics - diabetic medicine	10 - 15 weeks	10 - 15 weeks

 

Unless there has been a change in your symptoms, please do not contact your GP for an update on waiting times, or to ask them to speed up the process.

If you have any concerns or questions please use the contact details on your hospital letter, or if you do not have a letter with these contact details, our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) can answer your queries. However, please note that the team cannot access this information about appointment waiting times directly, limiting the speed of their response.

We are working as hard as we can to serve our community and will be in touch with you as soon as we can.

Thank you for your understanding.