Frequently asked questions
Common questions about NHS waits + your options
Clear answers to the questions patients ask most. For deeper reading on any topic, see /insights.
Reviewed by Mustafa Ghafouri (MBChB, MSc) ·
Using HospitalWaits
- What is HospitalWaits?
- HospitalWaits.co.uk is a free, independent tool that lets you compare NHS waiting times. Built by Doctor Data Ltd. You can compare waits across more than 500 NHS trusts and independent providers treating NHS patients, and 18 specialties, using monthly NHS England Referral-to-Treatment (RTT) data.
- Is it free?
- Yes. HospitalWaits is free for patients, GPs, and journalists. You do not need to log in and nothing is behind a paywall. We hold personal data only if you give it to us: if you sign up for an update, your email address and any hospital or specialty you asked us to watch; if you send us feedback, your message, the page you came from and your email address if you add one; and anything you email us. Our privacy policy at /privacy has the details.
- Where does the data come from?
- All NHS waiting-time data is from NHS England's monthly Referral-to-Treatment (RTT) release. It is published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Hospital details come from the NHS Organisation Data Service (ODS). Postcodes are turned into map coordinates by postcodes.io. Every number on the site links to its NHS source.
- How often is the data updated?
- Once a month. NHS England usually publishes RTT data on the 2nd Thursday of the month, covering the prior month. Our pipeline picks it up within 24 hours.
NHS Right to Choose
- What is NHS Right to Choose?
- In England, when your GP, dentist or optometrist refers you for a first outpatient appointment with a consultant-led service (or to a mental health professional), you have a legal right to choose which provider you go to, from those with an NHS contract for the service you need. The government's NHS Choice Framework says these choices only apply at the point of referral, and lists exceptions, including urgent care, suspected cancer, maternity, and an onward referral for a condition you are already receiving care and treatment for. The law behind it is regulation 39 of the NHS Standing Rules Regulations 2012. Full explanation at /right-to-choose.
- How do I use Right to Choose?
- Three steps. First, compare waits at your local NHS hospital against others you can travel to — use HospitalWaits or NHS England's RTT data. Second, tell your GP at your next appointment that you want to be referred to the hospital with the shorter wait. Third, take a printable letter to your GP — HospitalWaits has a generator at /gp-letter that fills in your details for you.
- Can my GP refuse my Right to Choose request?
- Where the right applies, your choice is between providers your GP judges clinically appropriate: NHS England's guidance says the referrer is not required to make a referral they do not believe would be clinically appropriate. The right also does not apply in some situations, such as urgent care, suspected cancer, or an onward referral for a condition you are already being treated for. If you think you were not offered a choice you were entitled to, the NHS Choice Framework says to speak to your GP first, then you can complain to your local integrated care board (ICB) and raise it with NHS England (0300 311 22 33).
- Why don't more patients use Right to Choose?
- Healthwatch England says few people exercise this right. The data needed to make a confident choice has also been hard to find. HospitalWaits exists to fix that last bit.
Going private
- Should I go private?
- It depends on your situation. A general framework: First, look for a shorter NHS wait: choose the provider through Right to Choose when your GP refers you, or, if you have waited or will wait more than 18 weeks, ask the hospital or your integrated care board (ICB) for a different provider. It is free and often gives a much shorter wait. Second, check if you already have insurance — many people have private medical insurance (PMI) through work or a partner and do not know. Third, only consider paying yourself if the wait is doing real harm to your life, you can comfortably afford it, and you have done full checks on the consultant and hospital. Full framework at /insights/when-private-makes-sense.
- How much does private surgery cost?
- The 'from' price you see often sits 20% to 40% below the real final bill. A hip replacement quoted at £14,000 often ends up at £17,000 to £19,000. See /insights/what-private-surgery-actually-costs for realistic ranges across 10+ procedures and how to get a quote you can trust.
- Do I have private medical insurance?
- More often than you might think — and you may not know it. Five places worth checking: your employer's benefits portal; your partner's policy; your email inbox for the words 'policy schedule' or insurer names; health-cash plans like Simply Health or HSF; add-ons to other insurance you already have. See /insurance-cover for the full guide.
- Can I take out PMI now to cover my current wait?
- Usually no. Almost all standard PMI policies exclude pre-existing conditions. 'Moratorium' underwriting usually needs a 2-year symptom-free period before the policy covers a condition. For your current wait, focus on Right to Choose and paying yourself if you can. For future cover, speak to a Defaqto-rated independent broker.
Trust + integrity
- Who built HospitalWaits?
- Mustafa Ghafouri (MBChB, MSc). He is a medically trained data scientist with 10+ years across the NHS, pharma, and digital health. He is Head of Data Science at Pharmacy2U and Director of Doctor Data Ltd. He is an NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Fellow. He is medically trained but not currently in clinical practice, and is not GMC-registered. That is why the site uses his real credentials (MBChB, MSc, and his 10-year track record) rather than the 'Dr' title or any clinical-practitioner framing. HospitalWaits.co.uk is the first consumer product from Doctor Data Ltd, his UK Limited company.
- Are you affiliated with the NHS?
- No. HospitalWaits is independent. We have no link to NHS England, NHS Digital, or any NHS hospital. We use NHS open data under the Open Government Licence v3.0, but we are not part of the NHS.
- Are you funded by private healthcare companies?
- No. From late 2026, we may accept sponsored placements from private hospital groups and affiliate links to PMI insurers. We will make these clear and loud — the Money Saving Expert and BMJ pattern. They will never change our editorial analysis or how we work out the numbers. Full disclosure standard at /sponsorship-policy. We have publicly committed to a yearly editorial-independence audit.
- Is this medical advice?
- No. HospitalWaits gives general information, not medical advice. Mustafa is medically trained but not currently in clinical practice and is not GMC-registered. He is not your doctor or anyone's doctor. Anything on the site that sounds like a clinical recommendation is general information only. For advice on your own case, speak to your GP, your consultant, or your specialist nurse.
When things go wrong
- My NHS operation got cancelled at short notice. What can I do?
- The Handbook to the NHS Constitution lists this among government pledges on waiting times. It covers operations cancelled on or after the day of admission (including the day of surgery) for non-clinical reasons. The pledge is that you are offered another binding date within 28 days, or your treatment is funded at the time and hospital of your choice. It is a pledge, not a legal right: the handbook says the pledges are not legally binding. Step by step: ask your consultant's secretary to confirm the cancellation reason in writing. If there is no new date within 14 days, contact PALS, your MP, and your local Healthwatch. Full guide at /insights/what-to-do-when-op-cancelled.
- I've been waiting more than 52 weeks. What are my options?
- The legal waiting-time right is 18 weeks, not 52: the Handbook to the NHS Constitution says you have the right to start consultant-led treatment within a maximum of 18 weeks from referral for non-urgent conditions. The right has exceptions, for example if you choose to wait longer or if a delay is in your best clinical interests. If 18 weeks is not possible, the ICB or NHS England, whichever commissions and funds your treatment, must take all reasonable steps to offer you a suitable alternative provider that can treat you sooner. To start that, contact the hospital you were referred to or your local integrated care board (ICB). If you are not offered an alternative, the NHS Choice Framework says to complain to your ICB in most cases, and that you can also complain to NHS England, giving the email address england.choice@nhs.net. NHS England's contact centre is also on 0300 311 22 33. Your hospital's PALS, your local Healthwatch and your MP can also help. If you have private medical insurance (PMI), check what it covers. The decision-support panel on every hospital × specialty page has these steps for long waits, and /right-to-choose#switching explains how to ask for a different provider.
- How do I escalate a complaint about my NHS hospital?
- Start with your hospital's PALS (Patient Advice and Liaison Service), which tries to sort out problems informally, without a formal complaint. You will find the contact on the hospital's NHS website page. To complain formally, complain either to the hospital or to your local integrated care board (ICB), the body NHS England's complaints guidance names for complaints about hospital care. That guidance says: "You cannot complain to both." NHS England itself handles complaints about specialised services for rare and complex conditions, prison healthcare and military health services. You can complain verbally, in writing or by email, normally within 12 months. Under the NHS complaints regulations, the body must acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days and offer to discuss how it will be handled and how long the response is likely to take. NHS England's guidance says there is no set timeframe for the response itself. If it has not sent you a written response within 6 months, or a longer period you agreed, it must write to tell you why. If you are still unhappy at the end, you can take your complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. Your local Healthwatch can tell you who gives free NHS complaints advocacy in your area, and your MP can raise it too.
Question not answered here? Email mustafa@doctor-data.co.uk. Better answer? We'll publish corrections per our editorial policy.