How to read these waiting bands

These bands describe elapsed waits among pathways still waiting at the stated period end, not time until an appointment or completed treatment. A range such as 3–<4 includes 3 but excludes 4 weeks; >3–4 excludes 3 and includes 4. 13+ has no upper bound; >104 means more than 104 weeks. Chart bars mark the finite upper bound or, for open bands, the lower bound; tied bands cannot rank individual waits.

ENT RTT specialty queue Vintage June 2026

Tonsillectomy

Surgical removal of the tonsils.

Compare two trusts All procedures

Reviewed by PlainNHS ·

Median wait

>14–15 weeks

Within 18-week reference · national median for the Ear Nose and Throat specialty

90th percentile

>38–39 weeks

Beyond 18-week reference · Elapsed-wait 90th-percentile band

Annual NHS volume

32,000

Approx. annual activity (separate source)

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

>14–15 weeks median for the Ear Nose and Throat specialty

National median for Ear Nose and Throat Service is >14–15 weeks (90th percentile >38–39), among pathways still waiting at the end of RTT-June-2026; it does not measure completed treatment. Among the 10 trusts PlainNHS profiles, medians run from Kings College Hospital at >6–7 weeks to Cambridge University Hospitals at >16–17 weeks. English providers with large lists span about 0–1 to 24–25 weeks. Source: NHS England RTT statistics, period RTT-June-2026.

  • Among 10 profiled trusts, Kings College Hospital has a shorter median band at >6–7 weeks vs Cambridge University Hospitals at >16–17
  • English large-list specialty medians span about 0–1 to 24–25 weeks for this queue
  • About 32,000 completed pathways a year nationally for tonsillectomy

The wait picture

National median for Ear Nose and Throat Service is >14–15 weeks (90th percentile >38–39), among pathways still waiting at the end of RTT-June-2026; it does not measure completed treatment. Among the 10 trusts PlainNHS profiles, medians run from Kings College Hospital at >6–7 weeks to Cambridge University Hospitals at >16–17 weeks. English providers with large lists span about 0–1 to 24–25 weeks.

>14–15 wks
National median wait for the Ear Nose and Throat specialty
>38–39 wks
90th percentile (elapsed wait among those still waiting)
>6–7 wks
Shortest profiled median band (Kings College Hospital)
>16–17 wks
Longest profiled median band (Cambridge University Hospitals)

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

How to read this pathway

ENT pathways such as tonsillectomy are measured on NHS England's consultant-led Referral-to-Treatment (RTT) incomplete-pathway standard - 92% within 18 weeks from GP referral to treatment start. ENT lists often run longer than the headline national median, which is why the specialty spread below is worth reading alongside the national figure.

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 Tonsillectomy, not for that operation alone.

Ear Nose and Throat Service median at profiled trusts

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

Kings College Hospital (June-2026): >6–7 weeksKings College Hospital (June-2026)>6–7 weeksNewcastle Upon Tyne Hospital (June-2026): >9–10 weeksNewcastle Upon Tyne Hospital(June-2026)>9–10 weeksGuys and St Thomas (June-2026): >13–14 weeksGuys and St Thomas (June-2026)>13–14 weeksImperial College Healthcare (June-2026): >13–14 weeksImperial College Healthcare(June-2026)>13–14 weeksManchester University (June-2026): >14–15 weeksManchester University (June-2026)>14–15 weeksRoyal Free London (June-2026): >14–15 weeksRoyal Free London (June-2026)>14–15 weeksUniversity College London Ho (June-2026): >14–15 weeksUniversity College London Ho(June-2026)>14–15 weeksLeeds Teaching Hospitals (June-2026): >15–16 weeksLeeds Teaching Hospitals(June-2026)>15–16 weeksCambridge University Hospita (June-2026): >16–17 weeksCambridge University Hospita(June-2026)>16–17 weeksOxford University Hospitals (June-2026): >16–17 weeksOxford University Hospitals(June-2026)>16–17 weeks
Median wait (weeks) for Tonsillectomy 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.

Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospital: 78.9%Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospital78.9%Kings College Hospital: 78.7%Kings College Hospital78.7%Imperial College Healthcare: 62.6%Imperial College Healthcare62.6%Royal Free London: 59.7%Royal Free London59.7%University College London Ho: 59.7%University College London Ho59.7%Guys and St Thomas: 59.6%Guys and St Thomas59.6%Manchester University: 58.8%Manchester University58.8%Leeds Teaching Hospitals: 55%Leeds Teaching Hospitals55%Oxford University Hospitals: 54.5%Oxford University Hospitals54.5%Cambridge University Hospita: 53.6%Cambridge University Hospita53.6%
Share of pathways within 18 weeks (Tonsillectomy, profiled trusts)

Ear Nose and Throat Service waits at profiled trusts

Median and 92nd-percentile waits for the specialty that performs Tonsillectomy, 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 Tonsillectomy 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
Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust NHS SOUTH EAST LONDON INTEGRATED CARE BOARD Requires improvement >6–7 >30–31 78.7% 703
The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust NHS NORTH EAST AND NORTH CUMBRIA INTEGRATED CARE BOARD Requires improvement >9–10 >28–29 78.9% 8,706
Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust NHS SOUTH EAST LONDON INTEGRATED CARE BOARD Good >13–14 >37–38 59.6% 5,685
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust NHS WEST AND NORTH LONDON INTEGRATED CARE BOARD Requires improvement >13–14 >35–36 62.6% 7,605
Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust NHS GREATER MANCHESTER INTEGRATED CARE BOARD >14–15 >39–40 58.8% 8,911
Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust NHS WEST AND NORTH LONDON INTEGRATED CARE BOARD Requires improvement >14–15 >40–41 59.7% 10,138
University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust NHS WEST AND NORTH LONDON INTEGRATED CARE BOARD Good >14–15 >38–39 59.7% 6,953
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust NHS WEST YORKSHIRE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD Requires improvement >15–16 >50–51 55% 3,437
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust NHS CENTRAL EAST INTEGRATED CARE BOARD Good >16–17 >45–46 53.6% 3,648
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust NHS THAMES VALLEY INTEGRATED CARE BOARD Requires improvement >16–17 >43–44 54.5% 7,119

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 Ear Nose and Throat Service wait

Every one of the 147 English NHS providers reporting a specialty-level RTT return for Ear Nose and Throat Service in RTT-June-2026, ordered by median band, with tied bands sharing a rank. 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 4 of 147 providers.

Rank Provider Region Median (wks) Within 18wks Waiting
78 SALISBURY NHS FOUNDATION TRUST NHS BATH AND NORTH EAST SOMERSET, SWINDON AND WILTSHIRE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD >14–15 60.2% 2,933
95 GREAT WESTERN HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST NHS BATH AND NORTH EAST SOMERSET, SWINDON AND WILTSHIRE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD >15–16 57.8% 3,508
95 SULIS HOSPITAL BATH (FOXCOTE AVENUE) NHS BATH AND NORTH EAST SOMERSET, SWINDON AND WILTSHIRE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD >15–16 62.7% 600
112 ROYAL UNITED HOSPITALS BATH NHS FOUNDATION TRUST NHS BATH AND NORTH EAST SOMERSET, SWINDON AND WILTSHIRE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD >16–17 53.7% 2,884

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.

Ear Nose and Throat Service waits by NHS region

The same 147-provider return above, grouped by NHS commissioning region instead of ranked by provider. NHS LANCASHIRE AND SOUTH CUMBRIA INTEGRATED CARE BOARD has the shortest median-of-provider-bands interval (median of provider median bands 8–9 weeks, 7 providers); NHS COVENTRY AND WARWICKSHIRE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD the longest interval (22–23 weeks, 3 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 LANCASHIRE AND SOUTH CUMBRIA INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 7 8–9 6–7–11–12
NHS BRISTOL, NORTH SOMERSET AND SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 2 8.5–9.5 7–8–10–11
NHS CORNWALL AND THE ISLES OF SCILLY INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 1 9–10 9–10–9–10
NHS NORTH EAST AND NORTH CUMBRIA INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 6 10–11 7–8–15–16
NHS BIRMINGHAM AND SOLIHULL INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 1 11–12 11–12–11–12
NHS THAMES VALLEY INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 4 11.5–12.5 9–10–16–17
NHS WEST YORKSHIRE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 7 12–13 0–1–15–16
NHS HAMPSHIRE AND ISLE OF WIGHT INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 7 12–13 6–7–20–21
NHS NORTH EAST LONDON INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 4 12–13 8–9–19–20
NHS SOUTH YORKSHIRE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 4 12.5–13.5 9–10–17–18
NHS NOTTINGHAM AND NOTTINGHAMSHIRE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 2 12.5–13.5 12–13–13–14
NHS CHESHIRE AND MERSEYSIDE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 9 13–14 5–6–16–17
NHS SURREY AND SUSSEX INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 9 13–14 5–6–18–19
NHS SOUTH EAST LONDON INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 3 13–14 6–7–16–17
NHS KENT AND MEDWAY INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 5 13–14 6–7–19–20
NHS SOUTH WEST LONDON INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 5 13–14 9–10–19–20
NHS DEVON INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 2 13–14 10–11–16–17
NHS HUMBER AND NORTH YORKSHIRE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 5 13–14 10–11–17–18
NHS ESSEX INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 6 13.5–14.5 4–5–24–25
NHS DERBY AND DERBYSHIRE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 2 13.5–14.5 11–12–16–17
NHS SHROPSHIRE, TELFORD AND WREKIN INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 2 13.5–14.5 13–14–14–15
NHS GREATER MANCHESTER INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 9 14–15 6–7–17–18
NHS WEST AND NORTH LONDON INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 9 14–15 6–7–17–18
NHS GLOUCESTERSHIRE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 1 14–15 14–15–14–15
NHS STAFFORDSHIRE AND STOKE-ON-TRENT INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 1 14–15 14–15–14–15
NHS SOMERSET INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 2 14.5–15.5 14–15–15–16
NHS NORFOLK AND SUFFOLK INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 4 15–16 11–12–21–22
NHS BLACK COUNTRY INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 5 15–16 11–12–39–40
NHS DORSET INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 2 15–16 14–15–16–17
NHS BATH AND NORTH EAST SOMERSET, SWINDON AND WILTSHIRE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 4 15–16 14–15–16–17
NHS CENTRAL EAST INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 8 15.5–16.5 7–8–20–21
NHS HEREFORDSHIRE AND WORCESTERSHIRE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 2 15.5–16.5 14–15–17–18
NHS LEICESTER, LEICESTERSHIRE AND RUTLAND INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 1 16–17 16–17–16–17
NHS NORTHAMPTONSHIRE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 2 16.5–17.5 16–17–17–18
NHS LINCOLNSHIRE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 1 18–19 18–19–18–19
NHS COVENTRY AND WARWICKSHIRE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD 3 22–23 14–15–22–23

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 (>14–15 weeks) sits behind 595,473 open Ear Nose and Throat Service pathways across every English provider in June 2026, with 59% of them within the 18-week standard, >40–41 weeks marks the slowest 8% (92nd percentile). Provider median bands range from 0–1 to 24–25 weeks across the qualifying English specialty providers. These provider bands and the national patient percentile describe different populations.

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 Ear Nose and Throat Service, the incomplete-pathway total moved from 595,204 in May 2026 to 595,473 in June 2026 (+269 pathways). The share within 18 weeks went from 58.9% to 59% (+0.1 percentage points) , while the mean of provider median bands lies in >12.8–13.9 weeks (was >13.1–14.2). 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 Ear Nose and Throat 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 HULL AND EAST RIDING HOSPITAL (NHS HUMBER AND NORTH YORKSHIRE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD) +18.9pp (54.7%→73.6%)
  • RENACRES HOSPITAL (NHS LANCASHIRE AND SOUTH CUMBRIA INTEGRATED CARE BOARD) +8.8pp (57.4%→66.2%)
  • LONDON NORTH WEST UNIVERSITY HEALTHCARE NHS TRUST (NHS WEST AND NORTH LONDON INTEGRATED CARE BOARD) +8pp (48.3%→56.3%)
  • KING'S COLLEGE HOSPITAL NHS FOUNDATION TRUST (NHS SOUTH EAST LONDON INTEGRATED CARE BOARD) +7.8pp (70.9%→78.7%)
  • COMMUNITAS CLINICS (NHS SOUTH WEST LONDON INTEGRATED CARE BOARD) +7pp (73.8%→80.8%)

Most worsened

  • RIVERS HOSPITAL (NHS CENTRAL EAST INTEGRATED CARE BOARD) -14.9pp (54.8%→39.9%)
  • WHITTINGTON HEALTH NHS TRUST (NHS WEST AND NORTH LONDON INTEGRATED CARE BOARD) -10pp (71.6%→61.6%)
  • NUFFIELD HEALTH THE HOLLY HOSPITAL (NHS ESSEX INTEGRATED CARE BOARD) -8.7pp (91.4%→82.7%)
  • PRACTICE PLUS GROUP HOSPITAL - SOUTHAMPTON (NHS HAMPSHIRE AND ISLE OF WIGHT INTEGRATED CARE BOARD) -8.1pp (50.2%→42.1%)
  • SPRINGFIELD HOSPITAL (NHS ESSEX INTEGRATED CARE BOARD) -6.6pp (72.5%→65.9%)

Source: NHS England consultant-led RTT provider×specialty history, providers with ≥100 incomplete Ear Nose and Throat 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 Ear Nose and Throat specialty is >14–15 weeks; the 90th percentile is >38–39 weeks (period RTT-June-2026).

Share of profiled-trust pathways within 18 weeks

Across the 10 trusts PlainNHS profiles (62,905 people still waiting in the RTT-June-2026 return), a waiting-list-weighted 61.6% 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.

Choosing an ENT trust at referral

ENT pathways such as tonsillectomy are referred through the NHS e-Referral Service. At the point of GP referral you can ask to see ENT providers. PlainNHS does not book appointments; it publishes the specialty waits from NHS England 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 ENT. 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 Tonsillectomy before you contact your GP or the trust's PALS.

  • National median wait is >14–15 weeks (90th percentile >38–39 weeks on the June 2026 return). See Kings profile
  • Put two trusts on the same monthly RTT or DM01 return side by side. Compare trusts
  • Read how the 18-week clock and incomplete-pathway counts are defined. RTT guide

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 ENT wait and NHS-cost questions

How much does tonsillectomy cost on the NHS?

NHS-funded tonsillectomy 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 >14–15 weeks, with a 90th percentile of >38–39 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 Tonsillectomy 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.