Referral to treatment (RTT) data for August 2026, published 8 October 2026 · Page updated 2 November 2026
Oral surgery waiting times at Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
NHS England referral to treatment (RTT) figures for consultant-led oral surgery care at Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, in the NHS England North West 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, 2,511 pathways were waiting for consultant-led oral surgery care at Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. Half had waited 15.8 weeks or less so far (England 16.4 weeks), 54.8% had waited under 18 weeks (England 53.8%; standard 92%) and 59 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 Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals: summary
At the end of August 2026 the median oral surgery wait so far at Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals was 15.8 weeks, slightly shorter than England’s 16.4 weeks (a difference of 0.6 weeks, or 4%). Its share waiting under 18 weeks, 54.8%, was in line with the North West region as a whole (53.4%). Of 107 NHS trusts with at least 20 oral surgery pathways waiting, 49 reported a shorter median and 57 a longer one, which puts Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals in the middle half. Waits lengthened between the end of February 2026 and August 2026: the median rose from 13.6 weeks to 15.8 weeks and the list grew by 665 pathways (36%). Over the same months the England median went from 16.5 weeks to 16.4 weeks. 59 pathways (2.3% of the list) had waited over 52 weeks, similar to the England share of 2.4%. 11 of the 23 other NHS trusts within 60 miles had a shorter median; the nearest were Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals (about 11 miles away, median 12.9 weeks) and Wirral University Teaching Hospital (about 13 miles away, median 15.5 weeks).
How does Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals compare for oral surgery?
| Measure | Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals | North West region | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pathways waiting | 2,511 | 45,645 | 316,357 |
| Waited under 18 weeks | 54.8% | 53.4% | 53.8% |
| Median weeks waited | 15.8 | not calculated | 16.4 |
| 92nd percentile weeks waited | 44 | not calculated | 44 |
| Waited over 52 weeks | 59 (2.3%) | 742 (1.6%) | 7,544 (2.4%) |
Region figures are a Waiting Times UK calculation: we add up NHS England’s figures for the 14 NHS and independent providers in the North West 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, 49 had a shorter median wait than Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals and 57 a longer one. See every trust on the oral surgery waits page.
Has the oral surgery wait at Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals changed?
At the end of February 2026, 1,846 pathways were waiting and the median wait so far was 13.6 weeks. At the end of August 2026, 2,511 pathways were waiting and the median was 15.8 weeks. Past changes do not predict future waits.
Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals: median oral surgery wait (weeks) England oral surgery
| Month end | Waiting | Median weeks | Under 18 weeks | Over 52 weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 2026 | 1,846 | 13.6 | 62.9% | 39 |
| March 2026 | 1,939 | 12.9 | 62.5% | 33 |
| April 2026 | 1,994 | 13.9 | 59.5% | 39 |
| May 2026 | 2,117 | 15.1 | 57.8% | 23 |
| June 2026 | 2,221 | 15.5 | 56.1% | 27 |
| July 2026 | 2,404 | 15.4 | 55.9% | 53 |
| August 2026 | 2,511 | 15.8 | 54.8% | 59 |
Which nearby trusts treat oral surgery?
| Nearby trust | Distance | Median weeks | Under 18 weeks | Waiting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | about 7 miles | 17.6 | 50.8% | 4,070 |
| Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | about 11 miles | 12.9 | 63.5% | 1,492 |
| Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust | about 13 miles | 15.5 | 56.1% | 2,256 |
| Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust | about 15 miles | 19.1 | 47.3% | 2,073 |
| Bolton NHS Foundation Trust | about 17 miles | 18.3 | 49.1% | 2,268 |
| Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust | about 20 miles | 19.8 | 46.0% | 1,884 |
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 Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
- Oral surgery waits at every trust in England
- Search by postcode
- All specialty pages by trust
Other specialties at Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals
- Cardiology
- Dermatology
- Ear, nose and throat (ENT)
- Elderly medicine
- Gastroenterology
- General internal medicine
- General surgery
- Gynaecology
- Neurosurgery
- Ophthalmology
- Plastic surgery
- Respiratory medicine
- Rheumatology
- Trauma and orthopaedics
- Urology
Frequently asked questions
How long is the wait for oral surgery at Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals?
At the end of August 2026, half of the 2,511 pathways waiting for oral surgery at Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust had waited 15.8 weeks or less, and 54.8% 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 Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching 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, 49 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 Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust”, NHS England RTT data for August 2026, https://waitingtimesuk.co.uk/specialty-waits/mersey-and-west-lancashire-teaching-hospitals-nhs-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.
Spotted a figure that looks wrong or out of date? Report a figure and we will check it against the original source.