Patients & Visitors

Outpatients

Wait times for first outpatient appointment

We are sorry that many outpatient appointments have been delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thank you for your continued patience and understanding.

Please only contact your GP if your condition worsens during your waiting period. Unfortunately, non-urgent cases cannot be expedited.

Please be assured that we have not forgotten about you. We are working hard across all specialties to review waiting lists and to minimise delays, and we will keep in touch with you about your waiting time.

To ensure patient and staff safety, each specialty is working to provide clinical reviews by telephone or by online video. Patients who need to be seen will be asked to attend face-to-face appointments, where social distancing and hygiene measures are in place.

Patients with, or who live with someone who has COVID-19 symptoms - a high temperature, continuous cough or loss or change in sense of taste or smell - must not attend appointments. Please call the number on your appointment letter to rearrange.

The outpatient waiting times listed below indicate the approximate waiting time for each speciality. This wait starts when the hospital receives the referral from the GP until the point of being seen in an outpatient clinic.

These statistics are updated at the beginning of each month and therefore sometimes the waiting times may fluctuate during the month. Some patients will be seen more quickly than the waiting times listed below, such as those on a two-week wait pathway (suspected cancer) and other urgent cases.

Surgery

Outpatients
(GP Referred)
Wait in weeks in excess of:

General Surgery

52

ENT (Adults)

32

ENT (Paediatric)

60

Ophthalmology - General

45

Ophthalmology surgical pathway - Cataracts

11

Ophthalmology - Glaucoma

18

Ophthalmology - Medical Retina

8

Ophthalmology - Corneal

21

Ophthalmology - Paediatric

23

Ophthalmology surgical pathway - Lids

6

Oral Surgery (Adults)

15

Oral Surgery (Paediatric)

6

Orthodontics

20

Trauma & Orthopaedics - Hands

6

Trauma & Orthopaedics - Knees

6

Trauma & Orthopaedics - Foot & Ankle

10

Trauma & Orthopaedics - Shoulder

7

Trauma & Orthopaedics - Spine

61

Trauma & Orthopaedics - Hips

8

Trauma & Orthopaedics - Paediatric

23

Urology

26

Urology (Paediatric)

31

back to top

Medicine

Outpatients
(GP Referred)
Wait in weeks in excess of:

Cardiology

55

Dermatology (Adults)

36

Dermatology (Paediatric)

30

Diabetic Medicine

8

Endocrinology

14

Gastroenterology

70

Geriatric Medicine

31

Neurology

48

Respiratory

12

Rheumatology

20

back to top

Family & Specialist Services

Outpatients
(GP Referred)
Wait in weeks in excess of:

Gynaecology

62

Paediatrics - General

44

Paediatrics - Allergy

18

Paediatrics - Cardiology

24

back to top

This is a guide to the average waiting time for a non-specialised scan.

Outpatient and Radiology waiting times
Current general referral waiting times
(please note urgent & specialised scans waiting times will differ):
Urgent
Approximate
wait in weeks
Routine
Approximate
wait in weeks:
CT Scan

2-4

20+

MRI Scan

2-3

14+

Ultrasound Scan

MSK Ultrasound

Neck/Thyroid Ultrasound

2

2-3

3-4

16+

26+

16+

Plain film X-Ray
  • RUH
  • Community sites

 

2
2

 

4-6
6-8

back to top