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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

48

ENT (Adults)

45

ENT (Paediatric)

45

Ophthalmology - General

38

Ophthalmology surgical pathway - Cataracts

11

Ophthalmology - Glaucoma

28

Ophthalmology - Medical Retina

22

Ophthalmology - Corneal

30

Ophthalmology - Paediatric

32

Ophthalmology surgical pathway - Lids

1

Oral Surgery (Adults)

26

Oral Surgery (Paediatric)

8

Orthodontics

8

Trauma & Orthopaedics - Hands

10

Trauma & Orthopaedics - Knees

16

Trauma & Orthopaedics - Foot & Ankle

16

Trauma & Orthopaedics - Shoulder

15

Trauma & Orthopaedics - Spine

80

Trauma & Orthopaedics - Hips

16

Trauma & Orthopaedics - Paediatric

56

Urology

42

Urology (Paediatric)

38

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Medicine

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

Cardiology

45

Dermatology (Adults)

36

Dermatology (Paediatric)

51

Diabetic Medicine

16

Endocrinology

24

Gastroenterology

68

Geriatric Medicine

27

Neurology

40

Respiratory

12

Rheumatology

27

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Family & Specialist Services

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

Gynaecology

46

Paediatrics - General

37

Paediatrics - Allergy

25

Paediatrics - Cardiology

36

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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

3-4

30

MRI Scan

2-3

6-8

General Ultrasound Scan

MSK Ultrasound

Neck/Thyroid Ultrasound

2

2-3

2-3

22+

40+

24+

Plain film X-Ray
  • RUH
  • Community sites

 

2
2

 

6-7
6-8

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