Orthopaedics RTT specialty queue Vintage June 2026

Knee Replacement

Total knee arthroplasty.

Compare two trusts All procedures

Reviewed by PlainNHS ·

Median wait

14 weeks

Near 18-week clock · national median for the Trauma and Orthopaedic specialty

90th percentile

40 weeks

Very long queue · 9 in 10 patients treated within

Annual NHS volume

110,000

Approx. completed pathways / year

Pick a profiled NHS Trust to open a side-by-side wait comparison for knee replacement against another trust you choose next.

14 weeks median for the Trauma and Orthopaedic specialty

National median for knee replacement is 14 weeks (90th percentile 40), on about 110,000 completed pathways a year. Among the 10 trusts PlainNHS profiles, medians run from University College London Hospitals at 9 weeks to Royal Free London at 18 weeks. English providers with large lists span about 5 to 29 weeks. Source: NHS England RTT statistics, period RTT-June-2026.

  • Among 10 profiled trusts, University College London Hospitals is fastest at 9 weeks vs Royal Free London at 18
  • English large-list specialty medians span about 5 to 29 weeks for this queue
  • About 110,000 completed pathways a year nationally for knee replacement

The wait picture

National median for knee replacement is 14 weeks (90th percentile 40), on about 110,000 completed pathways a year. Among the 10 trusts PlainNHS profiles, medians run from University College London Hospitals at 9 weeks to Royal Free London at 18 weeks. English providers with large lists span about 5 to 29 weeks.

14 wks
National median wait for the Trauma and Orthopaedic specialty
40 wks
90th percentile (9 in 10 treated within)
9 wks
Fastest profiled trust (University College London Hospitals)
18 wks
Slowest profiled trust (Royal Free London)

Profiled trusts: 10. Figures are specialty-level RTT queues, not single-operation forecasts. Period RTT-June-2026.

How to read this pathway

Hip and knee pathways sit under NHS England's consultant-led Referral-to-Treatment (RTT) incomplete-pathway standard: 92% of patients should wait no longer than 18 weeks from GP referral to treatment start (or a decision not to treat). Orthopaedics is one of the longer elective queues nationally, so the specialty median below is the figure that matters for referral timing.

Patients have a statutory right to choose their treating Trust at the point of GP referral. NHS England collects these figures by specialty, not by procedure, so the chart and table show the wait for the specialty that performs Knee Replacement, not for that operation alone.

Trauma and Orthopaedic Service median at profiled trusts

Sorted ascending. Specialty-level RTT incomplete pathways for the queue this procedure sits in. Period RTT-June-2026.

University College London Ho: 9 wksUniversity College London Ho9 wksImperial College Healthcare: 13 wksImperial College Healthcare13 wksNewcastle Upon Tyne Hospital: 13 wksNewcastle Upon Tyne Hospital13 wksGuys and St Thomas: 14 wksGuys and St Thomas14 wksKings College Hospital: 15 wksKings College Hospital15 wksCambridge University Hospita: 16 wksCambridge University Hospita16 wksLeeds Teaching Hospitals: 16 wksLeeds Teaching Hospitals16 wksManchester University: 16 wksManchester University16 wksOxford University Hospitals: 16 wksOxford University Hospitals16 wksRoyal Free London: 18 wksRoyal Free London18 wks
Median wait (weeks) for Knee Replacement at profiled trusts

Share within 18 weeks at profiled trusts

Sorted descending. Same NHS England return as the median chart; useful when choosing between trusts on the same pathway.

University College London Ho: 76.5%University College London Ho76.5%Imperial College Healthcare: 63.9%Imperial College Healthcare63.9%Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospital: 62.4%Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospital62.4%Guys and St Thomas: 62.2%Guys and St Thomas62.2%Kings College Hospital: 58.4%Kings College Hospital58.4%Manchester University: 57.2%Manchester University57.2%Leeds Teaching Hospitals: 56.1%Leeds Teaching Hospitals56.1%Cambridge University Hospita: 55.8%Cambridge University Hospita55.8%Oxford University Hospitals: 55.4%Oxford University Hospitals55.4%Royal Free London: 50.5%Royal Free London50.5%
Share of pathways within 18 weeks (Knee Replacement, profiled trusts)

Trauma and Orthopaedic Service waits at profiled trusts

Median and 92nd-percentile waits for the specialty that performs Knee Replacement, from NHS England's incomplete-pathways return for RTT-June-2026. These are whole-specialty figures covering every condition that specialty treats, so they describe the queue Knee Replacement sits in rather than that operation on its own. Waits are reported in one-week bands: a median of 12 means the middle patient has waited more than 11 and at most 12 weeks.

NHS Trust Region CQC Median (wks) 92nd pct (wks) Within 18wks Waiting
University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust London Good 9 32 76.5% 3,338
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust London Requires improvement 13 35 63.9% 3,151
The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust North East Requires improvement 13 45 62.4% 7,773
Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust London Good 14 37 62.2% 5,076
Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust London Requires improvement 15 40 58.4% 3,588
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust East of England Good 16 39 55.8% 4,470
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Yorkshire & Humber Requires improvement 16 48 56.1% 6,333
Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust North West 16 43 57.2% 12,295
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust South East Requires improvement 16 43 55.4% 8,079
Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust London Requires improvement 18 48 50.5% 10,880

Source: NHS England consultant-led RTT waiting times, incomplete pathways, RTT-June-2026. Covers the 10 profiled trusts that report to NHS England; providers outside NHS England's remit, including Scottish health boards, are not in this return.

Find your provider's Trauma and Orthopaedic Service wait

Every one of the 291 English NHS providers reporting a specialty-level RTT return for Trauma and Orthopaedic Service in RTT-June-2026, ranked fastest to slowest. Search by name or filter by region to find where your own hospital sits nationally. A wider view than the profiled-trusts table above, which is limited to the trusts this site covers in depth. Only providers with 100 or more incomplete pathways are included.

Showing 6 of 291 providers.

Rank Provider Region Median (wks) Within 18wks Waiting
23 UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS BIRMINGHAM NHS FOUNDATION TRUST NHS BIRMINGHAM AND SOLIHULL INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 8 77.7% 4,067
32 PRIORY HOSPITAL NHS BIRMINGHAM AND SOLIHULL INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 8 79.7% 543
88 THE WESTBOURNE CENTRE NHS BIRMINGHAM AND SOLIHULL INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 10 76.2% 256
98 PRACTICE PLUS GROUP HOSPITAL BIRMINGHAM NHS BIRMINGHAM AND SOLIHULL INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 11 69.6% 1,360
127 SPIRE PARKWAY HOSPITAL NHS BIRMINGHAM AND SOLIHULL INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 12 68.1% 860
142 THE ROYAL ORTHOPAEDIC HOSPITAL NHS FOUNDATION TRUST NHS BIRMINGHAM AND SOLIHULL INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 13 66.3% 11,076

Source: NHS England consultant-led RTT waiting times, incomplete pathways, RTT-June-2026. Most providers below are outside this site's profiled-trust roster and so have no linked page. RTT is collected by specialty, never by individual procedure.

Trauma and Orthopaedic Service waits by NHS region

The same 291-provider return above, grouped by NHS commissioning region instead of ranked by provider. NHS LEICESTER, LEICESTERSHIRE AND RUTLAND INTEGRATED CARE BOARD has the fastest typical provider (median of provider medians 8 weeks, 3 providers); NHS DEVON INTEGRATED CARE BOARD the slowest (18 weeks, 6 providers). This describes where providers typically sit, not a single guaranteed wait for every patient in that region.

Region Providers Median of medians (wks) Range (wks)
NHS LEICESTER, LEICESTERSHIRE AND RUTLAND INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 3 8 6–23
NHS WEST AND NORTH LONDON INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 15 9 6–18
NHS KENT AND MEDWAY INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 12 10 7–20
NHS SOUTH WEST LONDON INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 7 10 8–18
NHS COVENTRY AND WARWICKSHIRE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 5 10 8–15
NHS BIRMINGHAM AND SOLIHULL INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 6 10.5 8–13
NHS BATH AND NORTH EAST SOMERSET, SWINDON AND WILTSHIRE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 8 11 7–20
NHS NOTTINGHAM AND NOTTINGHAMSHIRE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 5 11 10–15
NHS THAMES VALLEY INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 10 11.5 7–20
NHS WEST YORKSHIRE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 10 11.5 9–17
NHS SURREY AND SUSSEX INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 21 12 5–20
NHS LANCASHIRE AND SOUTH CUMBRIA INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 12 12 7–22
NHS NORTH EAST AND NORTH CUMBRIA INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 15 12 8–18
NHS HUMBER AND NORTH YORKSHIRE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 9 12 9–14
NHS SOUTH EAST LONDON INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 6 12.5 6–15
NHS BLACK COUNTRY INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 8 12.5 8–41
NHS BRISTOL, NORTH SOMERSET AND SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 7 13 7–16
NHS NORTH EAST LONDON INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 6 13 8–15
NHS GREATER MANCHESTER INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 12 13 8–18
NHS CHESHIRE AND MERSEYSIDE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 13 13 10–18
NHS HAMPSHIRE AND ISLE OF WIGHT INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 13 14 6–19
NHS CORNWALL AND THE ISLES OF SCILLY INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 3 14 6–19
NHS STAFFORDSHIRE AND STOKE-ON-TRENT INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 5 14 9–17
NHS NORFOLK AND SUFFOLK INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 7 14 10–19
NHS SOMERSET INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 3 14 12–18
NHS NORTHAMPTONSHIRE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 5 14 12–15
NHS GLOUCESTERSHIRE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 2 14.5 12–17
NHS SOUTH YORKSHIRE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 7 15 9–18
NHS LINCOLNSHIRE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 3 15 10–18
NHS SHROPSHIRE, TELFORD AND WREKIN INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 4 15.5 10–22
NHS CENTRAL EAST INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 19 16 8–24
NHS ESSEX INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 10 16.5 5–29
NHS HEREFORDSHIRE AND WORCESTERSHIRE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 5 17 10–19
NHS DORSET INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 5 17 12–22
NHS DERBY AND DERBYSHIRE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 4 17.5 10–19
NHS DEVON INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 6 18 8–20

Source: same NHS England return as the provider search above (RTT-June-2026). Region is the provider's NHS commissioning region, not the patient's home region.

The national queue behind this figure

The national median above (14 weeks) sits behind 837,484 open Trauma and Orthopaedic Service pathways across every English provider in June 2026, with 60.6% of them within the 18-week standard, 42 weeks marks the slowest 8% (92nd percentile). The profiled trusts above (5–29 weeks) run either side of that national median.

Source: NHS England consultant-led RTT waiting times, national all-provider total (June 2026), the England-wide figure the per-trust breakdown above is drawn from, not a further trust.

Month-on-month specialty queue movement

Across every English provider reporting Trauma and Orthopaedic Service, the incomplete-pathway total moved from 835,954 in May 2026 to 837,484 in June 2026 (+1,530 pathways). The share within 18 weeks went from 59.8% to 60.6% (+0.8 percentage points) , while the average provider median stayed near 13.2 weeks (was 13.7). Procedures that sit in this specialty share that queue movement; it is not a single-operation forecast.

Source: NHS England consultant-led RTT provider×specialty history (May 2026 → June 2026), England-wide aggregate for this treatment function.

Which providers moved most for Trauma and Orthopaedic Service?

The England-wide aggregate above blends every provider's queue together, so it can mask an individual trust getting sharply better or worse. Ranking providers with at least 100 incomplete pathways in both May 2026 and June 2026 by the change in their 18-week share shows which named trusts are actually driving that movement.

Most improved

  • SPIRE LEICESTER HOSPITAL (NHS LEICESTER, LEICESTERSHIRE AND RUTLAND INTEGRATED CARE BOARD) +28.1pp (59.2%→87.3%)
  • SPIRE SOUTHAMPTON HOSPITAL (NHS HAMPSHIRE AND ISLE OF WIGHT INTEGRATED CARE BOARD) +19.8pp (51.8%→71.6%)
  • ST EDMUNDS HOSPITAL (NHS NORFOLK AND SUFFOLK INTEGRATED CARE BOARD) +15.9pp (45.8%→61.7%)
  • NUFFIELD HEALTH, WESSEX HOSPITAL (NHS HAMPSHIRE AND ISLE OF WIGHT INTEGRATED CARE BOARD) +13pp (44.8%→57.8%)
  • SPIRE CLARE PARK HOSPITAL (NHS HAMPSHIRE AND ISLE OF WIGHT INTEGRATED CARE BOARD) +10.8pp (60.9%→71.7%)

Most worsened

  • BEACON PARK HOSPITAL (NHS STAFFORDSHIRE AND STOKE-ON-TRENT INTEGRATED CARE BOARD) -11.6pp (73.1%→61.5%)
  • NUFFIELD HEALTH, BOURNEMOUTH HOSPITAL (NHS DORSET INTEGRATED CARE BOARD) -9.3pp (62%→52.7%)
  • SPRINGFIELD HOSPITAL (NHS ESSEX INTEGRATED CARE BOARD) -9.2pp (60.9%→51.7%)
  • SPIRE FYLDE COAST HOSPITAL (NHS LANCASHIRE AND SOUTH CUMBRIA INTEGRATED CARE BOARD) -8.9pp (76.9%→68%)
  • CORA HEALTH DIAGNOSTICS (FORMERLY HEALTHSHARE DIAGNOSTICS) (NHS KENT AND MEDWAY INTEGRATED CARE BOARD) -8pp (67.6%→59.6%)

Source: NHS England consultant-led RTT provider×specialty history, providers with ≥100 incomplete Trauma and Orthopaedic Service pathways in both periods shown.

18-week RTT incomplete-pathway standard

NHS England's consultant-led Referral-to-Treatment (RTT) incomplete-pathway standard is that 92% of patients should wait no longer than 18 weeks from GP referral to treatment start. The national specialty median on this page for the Trauma and Orthopaedic specialty is 14 weeks; the 90th percentile is 40 weeks (period RTT-June-2026).

Share of profiled-trust pathways within 18 weeks

Across the 10 trusts PlainNHS profiles (64,983 people still waiting in the RTT-June-2026 return), a waiting-list-weighted 58% of pathways were within 18 weeks. That is a roll-up of the per-trust shares in the chart above, not a second NHS England figure.

Other Orthopaedics pathways we track

National medians from the same NHS England family of returns. Each link opens that pathway's wait page.

Choosing an orthopaedics trust at referral

Hip and knee pathways are referred through the NHS e-Referral Service. At the point of GP referral you can ask to see orthopaedics providers for knee replacement. PlainNHS does not book appointments; it publishes the specialty waits from NHS England's RTT return so you can compare listed trusts before the referral is locked in.

Read with this pathway

Monthly RTT release cadence

The figures on this page refresh when PlainNHS ingests the next NHS England consultant-led RTT release for Orthopaedics. The data vintage in the hero and the period labels on the charts are the ones currently on file (RTT-June-2026).

Where to see what moved

What to do with this pathway

Use the published waits for Knee Replacement before you contact your GP or the trust's PALS.

Statistical waiting times only, not medical advice or a prediction for your case.

Answers, sources and standards

Check the evidence behind this page

Start with the common questions, then follow the primary sources used for the figures above.

Common orthopaedics wait and NHS-cost questions

How much does knee replacement cost on the NHS?

NHS-funded knee replacement in England carries no charge to the patient at the point of use for people ordinarily resident in the UK — the “free at the point of delivery” principle set out in the NHS Constitution for England. PlainNHS publishes official NHS waiting times, not private or insurer-funded prices: we hold no source we can attribute for private fees, so we do not publish them. What this page does record is the length of the NHS queue — a national median of 14 weeks, with a 90th percentile of 40 weeks. Which routes the NHS funds is set out in our guide to when the NHS pays for private treatment.

Primary sources

Data current as of

About the portal

PlainNHS

An independent public-data reference that compiles NHS England waiting-time statistics and Care Quality Commission ratings. It accepts no payment from NHS trusts or any covered entity, and advertising placements do not influence editorial presentation.

Important: Statistical waiting times do not predict the timing of any individual case. This page is not medical advice; speak to your GP, NHS 111, or the treating Trust for specific clinical decisions.

Source: NHS England Referral to Treatment (RTT) waiting times · RTT-June-2026

Compiled from official public sources by the publisher.

Spotted a figure that looks wrong? Report a correction.

PlainNHS procedure pages are rendered directly from NHS England RTT and diagnostic (DM01) releases, no number is typed in by an editor. Median and provider waits for Knee Replacement come from the live specialty or diagnostic return on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error on this page. Data current as of RTT-June-2026. Figures here are for context and comparison; clinical pathway decisions belong with your GP, NHS 111, or the treating Trust.