For journalists
Press kit + media contact
HospitalWaits is run by an NHS doctor with 10+ years of NHS data experience. Quotes, charts, and methodology are all on the record.
Direct line
Dr Mustafa Ghafouri — medical doctor + data scientist; Director, Doctor Data Ltd; NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Fellow.
- Email: mustafa@doctor-data.co.uk
- Background: /about · Methodology: /methodology
Happy to provide quotes, custom data cuts, charts, or commentary. Same-day response Mon–Fri for breaking RTT stories.
What we have
- 17 months of RTT data (October 2024 → February 2026) — full weekly-band distribution, not just headline numbers
- 538 trusts × 18 specialties = ~50,000 trust × specialty × month rows, queryable
- Distance-aware ranking via PostGIS — "shortest wait within X miles of postcode Y"
- National + per-trust trend charts over 12 months
- Coming V1.1: CQC ratings, Friends & Family Test satisfaction, CSV export, trend chart download
Story angles this month
The five biggest NHS waiting lists right now (data through February 2026):
- Trauma and Orthopaedic Service — 837,743 on the list across 307 trusts; national median 13 weeks.
- Ophthalmology Service — 602,540 on the list across 329 trusts; national median 7 weeks.
- Ear Nose and Throat Service — 587,637 on the list across 171 trusts; national median 14 weeks.
- Gynaecology Service — 565,435 on the list across 196 trusts; national median 14 weeks.
- Urology Service — 386,911 on the list across 220 trusts; national median 11 weeks.
Every national specialty page has a 12-month trend chart and the full ranked list of trusts — ready to screenshot and cite.
When we publish
NHS England releases monthly RTT data on the second Thursday of each month at 09:30 UK time. Our automated pipeline ingests the new month within 24 hours and the site reflects it after the next ISR refresh (typically within 1 hour).
Email mustafa@doctor-data.co.uk to be added to the monthly release-day mailing list — you'll get the headline numbers + 2-3 story angles before the page is live.
Quoting + attribution
Cite as: "HospitalWaits, hospitalwaits.co.uk — analysis of NHS England RTT data."
All NHS data on this site is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. You're free to reproduce charts and figures with attribution.
Methodology is fully documented at /methodology — including how median wait is calculated, how distance is computed, and known V1 limitations.
Independence
HospitalWaits is independent. We have no affiliation with NHS England, NHS Digital, or any NHS organisation. We are not funded by any healthcare provider. Editorial private hospital listings shown on the site are pulled from publicly available pricing guides; no commercial relationship exists with those providers in V1. Future paid partnerships will be clearly labelled "Sponsored".
For data queries beyond what's on the site (custom regional cuts, historical analysis >17 months, derivative metrics), email mustafa@doctor-data.co.uk — usually a same-day turnaround for journalists on deadline.