Referral to treatment (RTT) data for August 2026, published 8 October 2026 · Page updated 2 November 2026
Ophthalmology waiting times: NHS trusts ranked
How long patients on the ophthalmology waiting list had waited at each NHS trust in England at the end of August 2026, from NHS England referral to treatment (RTT) statistics. Ophthalmology covers eyes, for example cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration and diabetic eye disease. Trusts are ranked from the shortest median wait to the longest.
Past figures, not a promise. These are NHS England figures for patients who were already on the waiting list at the end of August 2026: how long they had waited so far. They are not a forecast or a guarantee of how long a new patient will wait, and waits can change quickly. Waiting Times UK is an independent website, not part of the NHS, and this is not medical advice.
Ophthalmology: summary
At the end of August 2026, 105 NHS trusts in England had at least 20 pathways waiting for ophthalmology. Their median waits so far ranged from 5.9 weeks at Airedale to 18.0 weeks at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire; the England median was 10.4 weeks. 44 of the 105 trusts had a median at or below the England figure. The share waiting under 18 weeks ranged from 50.1% to 89.5% (England 72.2%); no trust met the 92% standard. 29 trusts had no ophthalmology pathways waiting over 52 weeks; the most was 537 at King's College Hospital.
Which NHS trusts have the shortest ophthalmology waits?
Select a column heading to sort, or filter by NHS England region. Each trust links to its own ophthalmology page with the trend and nearby trusts. To put two to four trusts next to each other, use the side-by-side comparison.
Ophthalmology: NHS trusts in England ranked by median wait, end of August 2026
Rank 1 is the shortest median wait; “=” marks a tie. Only NHS trusts with at least 20 ophthalmology pathways waiting and a published median are ranked, the same rule as on each trust’s specialty page. Independent-sector providers that treat NHS patients are not ranked. England: median 10.4 weeks, 72.2% under 18 weeks, 625,063 pathways waiting, 5,022 over 52 weeks.
How do NHS England regions compare for ophthalmology?
Ophthalmology by NHS England region, end of August 2026
The last two columns are a Waiting Times UK calculation: we add up NHS England’s figures for every NHS and independent provider in the region with this specialty. Medians cannot be added up, so the region columns show the share under 18 weeks rather than a median.
What do these measures mean?
Median weeks waited: half the pathways on the list had waited this long or less so far, at the end of the month.
Under 18 weeks: the share of the list that had waited less than 18 weeks (the NHS standard is 92%). Pathways with an unknown start date are left out, as NHS England does.
92nd percentile: 92% of pathways had waited this many weeks or less.
Pathways waiting: the size of the list. A pathway is one patient’s wait for one specialty; a person can be on more than one list.
Over 52 weeks: pathways that had waited more than a year.
NHS England publishes these figures for each trust as a whole, not for each hospital. A trust can run several hospitals, so the site you are treated at may have a different wait. A trust is shown for a specialty only if at least 20 pathways were waiting. Specialist trusts, and trusts that take complex referrals from elsewhere, are not like for like with general hospitals.
Can I choose a hospital with a shorter wait?
In England you have a legal right to start consultant-led, non-urgent treatment within 18 weeks of referral, with some exceptions, and you can usually choose where you are referred for a first outpatient appointment. Each hospital has a Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) that can help with questions about your wait. Your waiting time rights explained.
Not medical advice. If your symptoms change or get worse while you wait, contact your GP or the team treating you. If it is not an emergency, NHS 111 online or calling 111 can tell you where to go, including urgent treatment centres, which often have shorter waits. Call 999 or go to A&E for life-threatening emergencies such as chest pain, difficulty breathing, severe bleeding or signs of a stroke.
Waiting Times UK, “Ophthalmology waiting times: NHS trusts ranked”, NHS England RTT data for August 2026, https://waitingtimesuk.co.uk/compare/specialty/ophthalmology (accessed [date]). Where possible, cite the official publisher too.
Who wrote this page and where do the figures come from?
Written and maintained by the Waiting Times UK editorial team at Oaknest Media Ltd, an independent publisher that is not part of the NHS. Every figure is taken from an official publication, shown with its date, and linked below; where we add up or compare figures ourselves we say so. This page has not been reviewed by a clinician and is not medical advice. Page last updated 2 November 2026, from the data files named below. Figures change when the publisher releases new data.