Referral to treatment (RTT) data for August 2026, published 8 October 2026 · Page updated 2 November 2026
Respiratory medicine waiting times at Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust
NHS England referral to treatment (RTT) figures for consultant-led respiratory medicine care at Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust, in the NHS England South West region. Patients waiting at the end of August 2026. Respiratory medicine covers the lungs and breathing, for example asthma, COPD and sleep apnoea.
Short answer: At the end of August 2026, 667 pathways were waiting for consultant-led respiratory medicine care at Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust. Half had waited 11.4 weeks or less so far (England 10.4 weeks), 73.6% had waited under 18 weeks (England 74.1%; 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.
Respiratory medicine at Royal Cornwall Hospitals: summary
At Royal Cornwall Hospitals, patients on the respiratory medicine list at the end of August 2026 had waited a median of 11.4 weeks, slightly longer than the England figure of 10.4 weeks (by 1.0 week, or 10%). Its share waiting under 18 weeks, 73.6%, was in line with the South West region as a whole (75.2%). Of 118 NHS trusts with at least 20 respiratory medicine pathways waiting, 78 reported a shorter median and 35 a longer one, which puts Royal Cornwall Hospitals in the middle half. Waits lengthened between the end of February 2026 and August 2026: the median rose from 7.0 weeks to 11.4 weeks and the list grew by 178 pathways (36%). Over the same months the England median went from 10.5 weeks to 10.4 weeks. None of the 667 pathways had waited over 52 weeks (England 0.4%). No other NHS trust with a respiratory medicine page here has its registered address within 60 miles.
How does Royal Cornwall Hospitals compare for respiratory medicine?
| Measure | Royal Cornwall Hospitals | South West region | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pathways waiting | 667 | 11,476 | 182,914 |
| Waited under 18 weeks | 73.6% | 75.2% | 74.1% |
| Median weeks waited | 11.4 | not calculated | 10.4 |
| 92nd percentile weeks waited | 29 | not calculated | 32 |
| Waited over 52 weeks | 0 (0.0%) | 24 (0.2%) | 669 (0.4%) |
Region figures are a Waiting Times UK calculation: we add up NHS England’s figures for the 11 NHS and independent providers in the South 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 118 NHS trusts in England with at least 20 respiratory medicine pathways waiting, 78 had a shorter median wait than Royal Cornwall Hospitals and 35 a longer one. See all specialties on the operation and treatment waits page.
Has the respiratory medicine wait at Royal Cornwall Hospitals changed?
At the end of February 2026, 489 pathways were waiting and the median wait so far was 7.0 weeks. At the end of August 2026, 667 pathways were waiting and the median was 11.4 weeks. Past changes do not predict future waits.
Royal Cornwall Hospitals: median respiratory medicine wait (weeks) England respiratory medicine
| Month end | Waiting | Median weeks | Under 18 weeks | Over 52 weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 2026 | 489 | 7.0 | 78.9% | 1 |
| March 2026 | 524 | 7.4 | 83.6% | 0 |
| April 2026 | 507 | 9.8 | 81.9% | 0 |
| May 2026 | 583 | 8.5 | 81.5% | 0 |
| June 2026 | 619 | 7.9 | 79.6% | 0 |
| July 2026 | 654 | 10.4 | 75.5% | 0 |
| August 2026 | 667 | 11.4 | 73.6% | 0 |
Which nearby trusts treat respiratory medicine?
No other NHS trust with a respiratory medicine page has its registered address within 60 miles of Royal Cornwall Hospitals.
Find respiratory 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 Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust
- Operation and treatment waits by specialty in England
- Search by postcode
- All specialty pages by trust
Other specialties at Royal Cornwall Hospitals
- Cardiology
- Dermatology
- Ear, nose and throat (ENT)
- Elderly medicine
- Gastroenterology
- General surgery
- Gynaecology
- Neurology
- Ophthalmology
- Oral surgery
- Rheumatology
- Trauma and orthopaedics
- Urology
Frequently asked questions
How long is the wait for respiratory medicine at Royal Cornwall Hospitals?
At the end of August 2026, half of the 667 pathways waiting for respiratory medicine at Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust had waited 11.4 weeks or less, and 73.6% 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 Royal Cornwall Hospitals compare with England for respiratory medicine?
Across England the median respiratory medicine wait was 10.4 weeks and 74.1% had waited under 18 weeks at the end of August 2026. Of 118 NHS trusts with at least 20 pathways waiting, 78 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, “Respiratory medicine waiting times at Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust”, NHS England RTT data for August 2026, https://waitingtimesuk.co.uk/specialty-waits/royal-cornwall-hospitals-nhs-trust/respiratory-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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