Referral to treatment (RTT) data for August 2026, published 8 October 2026 · A&E data for September 2026, published 8 October 2026 · Diagnostics (DM01) data for August 2026, published 8 October 2026 · Page updated 1 November 2026
NHS waiting times in the South West
In August 2026, 67.5% of 601,782 pathways at providers in the NHS England South West region had waited under 18 weeks for treatment (England 65.2%). In September 2026, 71.8% of A&E attendances there ended within four hours (England 74.4%), and in August 2026, 15.9% of MRI waits were over six weeks.
How does the South West compare with England?
| Measure | South West | England | Data month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waiting for treatment (RTT pathways) | 601,782 | 7,189,213 | August 2026 |
| Waited under 18 weeks | 67.5% | 65.2% | August 2026 |
| Waited over 52 weeks | 1.2% | 1.6% | August 2026 |
| A&E within 4 hours (all types) | 71.8% | 74.4% | September 2026 |
| A&E within 4 hours (type 1) | 57.3% | 60.6% | September 2026 |
| MRI waits over 6 weeks | 15.9% | 22.0% | August 2026 |
| CT waits over 6 weeks | 9.3% | 11.2% | August 2026 |
| Talking Therapies: started within 6 weeks (of those finishing) | 84.0% | 83.4% | August 2026 |
Regional RTT figures are a Waiting Times UK calculation (provider figures added up by integrated care board region). Other figures are as published by NHS England.
How do hospital trusts in the South West compare?
| Trust | RTT waiting | % under 18 wks | Median wks | MRI % over 6 wks | Cancer 28-day % | Cancer 62-day % | A&E 4-hr % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol NHS Foundation Trust | 96,608 | 69.1% | 11.1 | 8.0% | 79.0% | 75.0% | 69.7% |
| Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust | 23,100 | 60.3% | 14.1 | 2.6% | 76.6% | 77.6% | 78.6% |
| Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | 66,529 | 70.0% | 10.9 | 19.0% | 74.0% | 65.5% | 61.8% |
| Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | 42,540 | 57.7% | 15.0 | 0.0% | 75.5% | 64.4% | 65.6% |
| Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust | 45,002 | 73.1% | 9.7 | 5.3% | 82.1% | 78.7% | 75.5% |
| Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust | 74,526 | 62.8% | 12.7 | 42.2% | 81.9% | 71.7% | 62.9% |
| Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust | 43,165 | 70.1% | 11.6 | 5.4% | 73.3% | 69.9% | 56.7% |
| Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust | 31,024 | 69.5% | 11.7 | 24.0% | 78.3% | 73.1% | 66.5% |
| Somerset NHS Foundation Trust | 55,401 | 64.1% | 12.0 | 14.0% | 74.7% | 77.8% | 71.7% |
| Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust | n/s | n/s | n/s | 18.3% | 60.6% | 70.0% | 71.5% |
| University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust | 67,260 | 66.0% | 12.4 | 2.3% | 73.8% | 70.1% | 71.8% |
| University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust | n/s | n/s | n/s | 27.2% | 81.7% | 70.6% | 65.6% |
n/s: no RTT data submitted. *: fewer than 20 patients. More measures on the compare page.
How long are waits for treatment in each integrated care board area?
| Integrated care board | Waiting | % under 18 wks | Over 52 wks |
|---|---|---|---|
| NHS Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board | 130,454 | 66.2% | 1,277 |
| NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board | 114,982 | 70.1% | 615 |
| NHS Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board | 48,958 | 73.8% | 451 |
| NHS Devon Integrated Care Board | 82,591 | 63.9% | 1,788 |
| NHS Dorset Integrated Care Board | 93,108 | 65.0% | 1,031 |
| NHS Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board | 69,965 | 70.2% | 62 |
| NHS Somerset Integrated Care Board | 61,724 | 65.7% | 1,730 |
Waits at providers whose parent ICB is in this area, which can include patients from elsewhere.
How quickly can people get a GP appointment in the South West?
| Integrated care board | Appointments | Same day | Within 14 days | Over 28 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NHS Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board | 596,078 | 40.1% | 74.0% | 8.8% |
| NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board | 524,245 | 37.0% | 76.5% | 6.0% |
| NHS Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board | 400,925 | 45.0% | 77.2% | 8.2% |
| NHS Devon Integrated Care Board | 846,451 | 45.3% | 79.6% | 6.9% |
| NHS Dorset Integrated Care Board | 535,206 | 43.4% | 73.4% | 11.2% |
| NHS Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board | 428,306 | 41.5% | 72.0% | 12.4% |
| NHS Somerset Integrated Care Board | 323,174 | 40.8% | 76.2% | 8.2% |
Booking to appointment, practice systems only. More: GP appointment waits.
Which towns have their own waiting time pages?
Barnstaple · Bath · Bournemouth · Bridgwater · Dorchester · Exeter · Falmouth · Newquay · Penzance · Plymouth · Poole · Taunton · Tiverton · Torquay · Truro · Weymouth · Yeovil
More: ADHD and autism waits by area, operations by specialty, cancer waits and all regions.
What are my rights while I 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.
Frequently asked questions
Are NHS waiting times in the South West better than the England average?
It depends on the measure. In August 2026, 67.5% of pathways in the South West were within 18 weeks, against 65.2% for England. The table above compares several measures.
Which trusts are in this region?
The 12 NHS acute trusts that NHS England places in its South West region are listed above. Trusts also treat patients from neighbouring areas.
Why are regional waiting list figures a calculation?
NHS England publishes waiting lists by provider and by commissioner. We add up provider figures by each provider’s integrated care board region, so totals can differ slightly from other regional figures.
How should I cite these figures?
Waiting Times UK, “NHS waiting times in the South West”, NHS England data for August 2026 (A&E September 2026), https://waitingtimesuk.co.uk/regions/south-west (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 1 November 2026, from the data files named below. Figures change when the publisher releases new data.
- NHS England: Referral to treatment waiting times (August 2026, published 8 October 2026)
- NHS England: A&E attendances (September 2026)
- NHS England: Diagnostics (DM01) (August 2026)
- NHS England: Cancer waiting times (provisional)
- NHS England: Appointments in General Practice (September 2026)
- NHS England: NHS Talking Therapies (August 2026)
- Method for regional and ICB RTT figures: ICB and NHS England region figures are sums of the published provider-level RTT counts, grouped by the provider's parent ICB and that ICB's NHS England region (calculated by Waiting Times UK). Activity counts are sums from the NHS England RTT full CSV extract.
Official statistics are reproduced under the Open Government Licence v3.0. See data sources and methods and about Waiting Times UK.
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