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NHS waiting times
Data through May 2026. NHS source.
Across NHS hospitals in England, the median wait for Ophthalmology Service — the specialty most cataract surgery cases are routed to — is 8 weeks, with 7 in 10 patients seen within the 18-week NHS Constitution target. Important context: cataract surgery is a high-volume day-case procedure and typically runs faster than the Ophthalmology specialty average — many trusts run dedicated cataract lists.
The national median NHS wait for Cataract surgery is 8 weeks as of May 2026, across 344 NHS trusts and independent providers reporting to the NHS, and 9 in 10 current patients are within 32 weeks. But the wait varies significantly between trusts — see the full ranking to find the shortest wait near you.
The median shows time waited so far by the current list — a new routine referral will often wait longer. Why these differ →
Top 10 NHS trusts publishing Ophthalmology Service data, ranked by shortest median wait. Want the full ranking? See all trusts on the Ophthalmology Service national page →
Hospitals ranked by shortest wait within travelling distance of each city.
The ranking above is national. To rank hospitals by distance from your postcode, search with your postcode below.
Search by postcode →