Check waiting times
If you're waiting for a hospital appointment or treatment, you can use the My Planned Care website to check the waiting times at your hospital.
Maximum waiting times for non-urgent referrals
The maximum waiting time for non-urgent, consultant-led treatments is 18 weeks from the day your appointment is booked through the NHS e-Referral Service, or when the hospital or service receives your referral letter. However, many trusts are currently experiencing longer than usual waiting times.
Your right to an 18-week waiting time does not apply if:
- you choose to wait longer
- delaying the start of your treatment is in your best clinical interests, for example, when stopping smoking or losing weight first is likely to improve the outcome of your treatment
- it is clinically appropriate for your condition to be actively monitored in secondary care without clinical intervention or diagnostic procedures at that stage
- you fail to attend appointments that you had chosen from a set of reasonable options
- the treatment is no longer necessary
Compare waiting times
Waiting times may vary between hospitals, and you should consider this when choosing a hospital.
When you're referred for your first outpatient appointment, the NHS e-Referral Service lets you book the appointment at a hospital or clinic of your choice, on a date and at a time that suits you.
You can use the My Planned Care website to compare waiting times at different hospitals.
The length of time you wait will depend on your specific treatment and clinical needs, and you could be seen quicker or wait longer than the waiting time shown.
What to expect following an urgent suspected cancer referral
If you’re referred for an urgent cancer check, cancer should be confirmed or ruled out within 28 days of the referral. This is part of the Faster Diagnosis Standard (FDS), which aims to diagnose and treat cancer as early as possible.
Once your referral has been received you will be contacted by the hospital and offered an appointment with a specialist, or to have tests soon afterwards (often within 2 weeks). Make sure you’re available for this appointment.
NHS England has more detailed statistics on cancer waiting times