Referral to treatment (RTT) data for August 2026, published 8 October 2026 · Page updated 2 November 2026
Elderly medicine waiting times at Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust
NHS England referral to treatment (RTT) figures for consultant-led elderly medicine care at Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, in the NHS England North West region. Patients waiting at the end of August 2026. Elderly medicine covers the care of older people, often with several conditions at once, for example falls, memory problems and frailty.
Short answer: At the end of August 2026, 232 pathways were waiting for consultant-led elderly medicine care at Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust. Half had waited 4.4 weeks or less so far (England 7.6 weeks), 94.0% had waited under 18 weeks (England 84.3%; standard 92%) and 0 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.
Elderly medicine at Northern Care Alliance: summary
Patients waiting for elderly medicine at Northern Care Alliance at the end of August 2026 had waited a median of 4.4 weeks, well below the England median of 7.6 weeks: 3.2 weeks (42%) shorter. 94.0% had waited under 18 weeks, 16.3 percentage points more than across the North West region (77.7%). It ranked joint 13th shortest of 106 NHS trusts for this measure, in the quarter of trusts with the shortest median elderly medicine waits. The median fell from 5.0 weeks to 4.4 weeks between the end of February 2026 and August 2026, with the list roughly level (231 to 232). Over the same months the England median went from 7.4 weeks to 7.6 weeks. None of the 232 pathways had waited over 52 weeks (England 0.3%). 3 of the 27 other NHS trusts within 60 miles had a shorter median; the nearest were Stockport (about 11 miles away, median 3.1 weeks) and East Lancashire Hospitals (about 18 miles away, median 2.6 weeks).
How does Northern Care Alliance compare for elderly medicine?
| Measure | Northern Care Alliance | North West region | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pathways waiting | 232 | 4,891 | 27,431 |
| Waited under 18 weeks | 94.0% | 77.7% | 84.3% |
| Median weeks waited | 4.4 | not calculated | 7.6 |
| 92nd percentile weeks waited | 16 | not calculated | 26 |
| Waited over 52 weeks | 0 (0.0%) | 3 (0.1%) | 90 (0.3%) |
Region figures are a Waiting Times UK calculation: we add up NHS England’s figures for the 17 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 106 NHS trusts in England with at least 20 elderly medicine pathways waiting, 12 had a shorter median wait than Northern Care Alliance and 90 a longer one. See all specialties on the operation and treatment waits page.
Has the elderly medicine wait at Northern Care Alliance changed?
At the end of February 2026, 231 pathways were waiting and the median wait so far was 5.0 weeks. At the end of August 2026, 232 pathways were waiting and the median was 4.4 weeks. Past changes do not predict future waits.
Northern Care Alliance: median elderly medicine wait (weeks) England elderly medicine
| Month end | Waiting | Median weeks | Under 18 weeks | Over 52 weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 2026 | 231 | 5.0 | 88.7% | 0 |
| March 2026 | 273 | 4.5 | 93.0% | 0 |
| April 2026 | 306 | 6.0 | 94.1% | 0 |
| May 2026 | 245 | 5.3 | 95.5% | 0 |
| June 2026 | 214 | 4.5 | 93.5% | 0 |
| July 2026 | 204 | 4.9 | 94.6% | 0 |
| August 2026 | 232 | 4.4 | 94.0% | 0 |
Which nearby trusts treat elderly medicine?
| Nearby trust | Distance | Median weeks | Under 18 weeks | Waiting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust | about 4 miles | 9.6 | 71.0% | 793 |
| Bolton NHS Foundation Trust | about 6 miles | 6.7 | 90.2% | 285 |
| Stockport NHS Foundation Trust | about 11 miles | 3.1 | 96.5% | 113 |
| Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | about 13 miles | 11.2 | 69.8% | 278 |
| North Cheshire and Mersey NHS Foundation Trust | about 13 miles | 14.0 | 61.9% | 286 |
| East Cheshire NHS Trust | about 17 miles | 10.4 | 80.0% | 70 |
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 elderly medicine pathways waiting are listed.
Find elderly medicine 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 Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust
- Operation and treatment waits by specialty in England
- Search by postcode
- All specialty pages by trust
Other specialties at Northern Care Alliance
- Cardiology
- Dermatology
- Ear, nose and throat (ENT)
- Gastroenterology
- General internal medicine
- General surgery
- Gynaecology
- Neurology
- Neurosurgery
- Ophthalmology
- Oral surgery
- Plastic surgery
- Respiratory medicine
- Rheumatology
- Trauma and orthopaedics
- Urology
Frequently asked questions
How long is the wait for elderly medicine at Northern Care Alliance?
At the end of August 2026, half of the 232 pathways waiting for elderly medicine at Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust had waited 4.4 weeks or less, and 94.0% 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 Northern Care Alliance compare with England for elderly medicine?
Across England the median elderly medicine wait was 7.6 weeks and 84.3% had waited under 18 weeks at the end of August 2026. Of 106 NHS trusts with at least 20 pathways waiting, 12 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, “Elderly medicine waiting times at Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust”, NHS England RTT data for August 2026, https://waitingtimesuk.co.uk/specialty-waits/northern-care-alliance-nhs-foundation-trust/elderly-medicine (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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