See the NHS wait behind your referral.
Compare 12 profiled NHS trusts and 10 tracked procedures from monthly NHS England returns, with CQC overall ratings on 10 matched providers. Public NHS figures, no account required.
12 NHS trusts and 10 procedures: NHS England RTT monthly returns, CQC overall ratings, DM01 diagnostics; compare waits before you contact NHS 111 or your GP.
Across 537 NHS England provider rows on file, 65.8% of 7.2 million incomplete RTT pathways sit within 18 weeks - while profiled trusts stretch from Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals at 74.6% to Oxford University Hospitals at 62.5%, and tracked procedures from 3 weeks (CT Scan (Outpatient)) to 15 weeks (Tonsillectomy). Source: NHS England RTT monthly statistics, vintage September 2026.
- Large profiled trusts: Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals 74.6% within-18 vs Oxford University Hospitals 62.5%
- Longest tracked procedure median: Tonsillectomy at 15 weeks
- 7.2m incomplete pathways across 537 provider rows on file
The national picture
Across 537 NHS England provider rows on file, 65.8% of 7.2 million incomplete RTT pathways sit within 18 weeks - while profiled trusts stretch from Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals at 74.6% to Oxford University Hospitals at 62.5%, and tracked procedures from 3 weeks (CT Scan (Outpatient)) to 15 weeks (Tonsillectomy).
- 65.8%
- Incomplete RTT pathways within 18 weeks (all provider rows on file)
- 7.2m
- Incomplete pathways summed across those rows
- 74.6%
- Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals - highest within-18w among large profiled trusts
- 15 wks
- Longest median among tracked procedures (Tonsillectomy)
Profiled trust pages: 12 (not a full regional census). Vintage September 2026 · NHS England RTT monthly statistics.
Open the waiting-time desk
Jump straight to Trust profiles, procedure medians, side-by-side compare, month-over-month movers, pathway guides, and regional research, the surfaces that make the RTT registry usable without an analyst workbook.
Within-18-week share by NHS region
Live-computed from the 12 trusts PlainNHS currently profiles. Most regions still have only 1–6 trusts in this set; descriptive, not a regional census.
Source: NHS England RTT statistics. Full regional research note.
Median wait by tracked procedure
Procedure medians across trusts PlainNHS currently tracks, companion to the regional within-18-week view above.
Source: NHS England RTT statistics, aggregated to the procedures PlainNHS publishes. Browse all procedures.
What this registry covers
NHS England publishes monthly referral-to-treatment (RTT) and diagnostic waiting-time statistics for English providers. The Care Quality Commission publishes overall inspection ratings. Official portals are built for analysts; PlainNHS turns the same open releases into one page per trust and procedure, with the reporting period beside every figure and a link back to the source.
This site currently covers RTT waits, DM01 diagnostic waits (2,536 provider×test rows on file), and matched CQC overall ratings for the trusts we profile (10 overall ratings matched). It does not publish A&E 4-hour performance series, cancer waiting-time series, or primary-care surgery directories. Pathway guides may still explain how those standards work without claiming those series are on this site.
PlainNHS is an independent data publisher. We are not affiliated with the NHS, NHS England, or the CQC. Figures here are for context and comparison; clinical pathway decisions belong with your GP, NHS 111, or the treating Trust.
Pathway guides & tools
- How the NHS 18-week RTT pathway works - the elective standard explained
- How to read CQC inspection ratings - the four bands and five domains
- Choose & Book - your right to choose your hospital
- Compare any two NHS Trusts - side-by-side on the same procedure
- NHS waiting-list key findings - live national + ICB statistics
- Open hospital RTT data - CSV and JSON downloads
- RTT performance by NHS region - original descriptive analysis
- How to make an NHS complaint - the formal route, step by step
Frequently Asked Questions
What does PlainNHS show?
PlainNHS publishes referral-to-treatment (RTT) waiting times by NHS provider and specialty, diagnostic (DM01) waits where reported, and Care Quality Commission overall ratings for the trusts we profile. Pages are searchable and comparable. We do not modify the underlying NHS figures; every number carries its source and reporting period.
Where does the data come from?
RTT and diagnostic waiting times come from NHS England’s published monthly statistics. Inspection ratings come from the Care Quality Commission’s published provider file. Each page cites its source agency and publication period so you can verify any number against the upstream release.
Is the data live or historical?
NHS performance data is published monthly with a one-to-two-month lag (March figures release in May). PlainNHS aims to refresh within a week of each upstream release, though the current data vintage may lag behind the most recent NHS publication at any given time. The data vintage shown on every entity page next to the value always reflects the actual reporting period on file.
Is this medical advice?
No. PlainNHS presents publicly available NHS performance data for context and comparison. It is not medical advice and not a substitute for a referral or pathway decision made by your GP, NHS 111, or the treating NHS Trust. Statistical waiting-time aggregates do not predict individual case timing.
How is PlainNHS funded?
PlainNHS is operated by an independent editorial process. We do not accept compensation from NHS Trusts or any entities covered on the site. Costs are supported by display advertising; ad placements are clearly labelled and do not influence editorial or data presentation.
About this data
How PlainNHS works, and why you can trust these numbers
What this site is
PlainNHS aggregates NHS England referral-to-treatment and diagnostic waiting-time statistics, plus Care Quality Commission overall ratings for the trusts we profile, into searchable, comparable pages. We do not modify the underlying NHS figures; every number carries its source agency and reporting period. We do not publish A&E, cancer waiting-time series, or primary-care surgery directories on this site.
Editorial process
- Source. Pull monthly RTT and diagnostic statistics from NHS England and overall inspection ratings from the Care Quality Commission’s published provider file.
- Verify. Each record keeps its original reporting period and source agency, so every figure on the site traces back to the exact upstream publication.
- Publish. Compile per-Trust and per-procedure pages with the source and vintage stamped on every page, refreshed within about a week of each upstream release.
Editorial independence & corrections
PlainNHS is operated by an independent editorial process; it does not accept compensation from NHS Trusts or any covered entity, and advertising placements do not influence editorial or data presentation. Found an error? Use our editorial standards & corrections policy or the contact page. See our methodology for full source attribution and refresh cadence.
Frequently asked
What does PlainNHS show?
PlainNHS publishes referral-to-treatment (RTT) waiting times by NHS provider and specialty, diagnostic (DM01) waits where reported, and Care Quality Commission overall ratings for the trusts we profile. Pages are searchable and comparable. We do not modify the underlying NHS figures; every number carries its source and reporting period.
Where does the data come from?
RTT and diagnostic waiting times come from NHS England’s published monthly statistics. Inspection ratings come from the Care Quality Commission’s published provider file. Each page cites its source agency and publication period so you can verify any number against the upstream release.
Is the data live or historical?
NHS performance data is published monthly with a one-to-two-month lag (March figures release in May). PlainNHS aims to refresh within a week of each upstream release, though the current data vintage may lag behind the most recent NHS publication at any given time. The data vintage shown on every entity page next to the value always reflects the actual reporting period on file.
Is this medical advice?
No. PlainNHS presents publicly available NHS performance data for context and comparison. It is not medical advice and not a substitute for a referral or pathway decision made by your GP, NHS 111, or the treating NHS Trust. Statistical waiting-time aggregates do not predict individual case timing.
How is PlainNHS funded?
PlainNHS is operated by an independent editorial process. We do not accept compensation from NHS Trusts or any entities covered on the site. Costs are supported by display advertising; ad placements are clearly labelled and do not influence editorial or data presentation.
Source: NHS England Referral to Treatment (RTT) waiting times · September 2026 Companion series on this site: NHS England diagnostics (DM01) and Care Quality Commission overall ratings for profiled trusts. A&E and cancer waiting-time series are not published here.
Download the trust-level RTT extract used on this site: hospitals.csv (within-18 share, waiting-list size, 52-week waits by trust). More tables live on statistics and open data.
What to do with this desk
Use the published returns to narrow a choice before you contact NHS 111 or your GP.
- Nationwide, 65.8% of incomplete RTT pathways were within 18 weeks on the latest return (7.2m pathways waiting). Start with trusts above that share. Browse trusts
- Put two trusts on the same monthly RTT return side by side. Compare trusts
- Read how the 18-week clock starts and what “incomplete pathway” means in the monthly statistics. RTT guide
Operational registry data only, not medical advice or a prediction for your referral.
PlainNHS is rendered directly from NHS England RTT and diagnostic releases and Care Quality Commission overall ratings, no number is typed in by an editor. Homepage national and procedure figures are aggregated from the live provider returns on file, no hand-typed totals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error on this page. Data current as of September 2026. Figures here are for context and comparison; clinical pathway decisions belong with your GP, NHS 111, or the treating Trust.