Referral to treatment (RTT) data for August 2026, published 8 October 2026 · Page updated 2 November 2026
Oral surgery waiting times at Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
NHS England referral to treatment (RTT) figures for consultant-led oral surgery care at Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, in the NHS England East of England region. Patients waiting at the end of August 2026. Oral surgery covers the mouth and jaw, for example wisdom teeth and other hospital dental surgery.
Short answer: At the end of August 2026, 7,264 pathways were waiting for consultant-led oral surgery care at Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Half had waited 22.4 weeks or less so far (England 16.4 weeks), 42.5% had waited under 18 weeks (England 53.8%; standard 92%) and 308 had waited over 52 weeks.
Source: NHS England referral to treatment (RTT) statistics, published 8 October 2026. These are past figures, not a forecast of how long you will wait.
Figures are for patients waiting at the end of August 2026 (NHS England RTT, published 8 October 2026). They show how long people had waited so far, not how long a new referral will wait, and they are not a guarantee of any wait. A pathway is one patient’s wait for one specialty; a person can be on more than one list.
Oral surgery at Bedfordshire Hospitals: summary
The median oral surgery wait so far at Bedfordshire Hospitals was 22.4 weeks for patients waiting at the end of August 2026, 6.0 weeks (37%) longer than the England median of 16.4 weeks. The share waiting under 18 weeks, 42.5%, was 2.9 percentage points below the figure for the East of England region (45.4%). It was among the quarter of NHS trusts with the longest median oral surgery waits: 13th longest of 107. The median rose from 19.5 weeks to 22.4 weeks between the end of February 2026 and August 2026, while the list stayed roughly level (7,142 to 7,264). Over the same months the England median went from 16.5 weeks to 16.4 weeks. 308 pathways (4.2% of the list) had waited over 52 weeks, above the England share of 2.4%. 34 of the 37 other NHS trusts within 60 miles had a shorter median; the nearest were East and North Hertfordshire Teaching (about 11 miles away, median 20.4 weeks) and Milton Keynes University Hospital (about 14 miles away, median 16.7 weeks).
How does Bedfordshire Hospitals compare for oral surgery?
| Measure | Bedfordshire Hospitals | East of England region | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pathways waiting | 7,264 | 34,970 | 316,357 |
| Waited under 18 weeks | 42.5% | 45.4% | 53.8% |
| Median weeks waited | 22.4 | not calculated | 16.4 |
| 92nd percentile weeks waited | 48 | not calculated | 44 |
| Waited over 52 weeks | 308 (4.2%) | 1,709 (4.9%) | 7,544 (2.4%) |
Region figures are a Waiting Times UK calculation: we add up NHS England’s figures for the 12 NHS and independent providers in the East of England region with this specialty. Medians and percentiles cannot be added up, so we do not show them for the region. The under-18-weeks share leaves out pathways with an unknown start date, as NHS England does.
Of the 107 NHS trusts in England with at least 20 oral surgery pathways waiting, 94 had a shorter median wait than Bedfordshire Hospitals and 12 a longer one. See every trust on the oral surgery waits page.
Has the oral surgery wait at Bedfordshire Hospitals changed?
At the end of February 2026, 7,142 pathways were waiting and the median wait so far was 19.5 weeks. At the end of August 2026, 7,264 pathways were waiting and the median was 22.4 weeks. Past changes do not predict future waits.
Bedfordshire Hospitals: median oral surgery wait (weeks) England oral surgery
| Month end | Waiting | Median weeks | Under 18 weeks | Over 52 weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 2026 | 7,142 | 19.5 | 46.7% | 276 |
| March 2026 | 7,235 | 19.0 | 47.8% | 123 |
| April 2026 | 7,102 | 20.5 | 45.3% | 197 |
| May 2026 | 7,024 | 20.1 | 45.0% | 158 |
| June 2026 | 6,886 | 21.2 | 42.5% | 173 |
| July 2026 | 7,007 | 21.8 | 41.3% | 254 |
| August 2026 | 7,264 | 22.4 | 42.5% | 308 |
Which nearby trusts treat oral surgery?
| Nearby trust | Distance | Median weeks | Under 18 weeks | Waiting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust | about 11 miles | 20.4 | 46.4% | 1,162 |
| Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust | about 14 miles | 16.7 | 53.7% | 1,562 |
| Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust | about 17 miles | 9.9 | 73.3% | 1,170 |
| West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust | about 17 miles | 17.4 | 52.2% | 2,842 |
| London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust | about 23 miles | 19.7 | 46.3% | 8,202 |
| The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust | about 25 miles | 17.9 | 50.5% | 1,615 |
Straight-line distance between the trusts’ registered addresses in the NHS Organisation Data Service. A trust may run several hospitals, so the site you are treated at can be elsewhere. Only trusts with at least 20 oral surgery pathways waiting are listed.
Find oral surgery waits near your postcode (England only).
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.
More waiting times
- All waiting times at Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Oral surgery waits at every trust in England
- Search by postcode
- All specialty pages by trust
Other specialties at Bedfordshire Hospitals
- Cardiology
- Dermatology
- Ear, nose and throat (ENT)
- Elderly medicine
- Gastroenterology
- General internal medicine
- General surgery
- Gynaecology
- Neurology
- Ophthalmology
- Plastic surgery
- Respiratory medicine
- Rheumatology
- Trauma and orthopaedics
- Urology
Frequently asked questions
How long is the wait for oral surgery at Bedfordshire Hospitals?
At the end of August 2026, half of the 7,264 pathways waiting for oral surgery at Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust had waited 22.4 weeks or less, and 42.5% had waited under 18 weeks. This is how long people on the list had waited so far, not a prediction of how long a new referral will take.
How does Bedfordshire Hospitals compare with England for oral surgery?
Across England the median oral surgery wait was 16.4 weeks and 53.8% had waited under 18 weeks at the end of August 2026. Of 107 NHS trusts with at least 20 pathways waiting, 94 had a shorter median wait.
Is this page from the NHS?
No. Waiting Times UK is an independent website, not part of the NHS, and this is not medical advice. The figures are NHS England’s, reproduced under the Open Government Licence.
How should I cite these figures?
Waiting Times UK, “Oral surgery waiting times at Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust”, NHS England RTT data for August 2026, https://waitingtimesuk.co.uk/specialty-waits/bedfordshire-hospitals-nhs-foundation-trust/oral-surgery (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.
- NHS England: Referral to treatment waiting times (August 2026, published 8 October 2026)
- NHS England: Referral to treatment waiting times, full CSV data files (February 2026 to August 2026; used for the month-by-month trend)
- NHS England: Organisation Data Service (trust registered addresses, used for distances), geocoded with postcodes.io (ONS Postcode Directory, OGL)
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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