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NHS waiting times
Data through August 2026. NHS source.
Across NHS hospitals in England, the median wait so far for Gastroenterology Service — the specialty most endoscopy / gastroscopy cases are routed to — is 9 weeks, counted from referral, and 7 in 10 patients on the Gastroenterology Service list have waited less than 18 weeks, the maximum wait set out in the Handbook to the NHS Constitution for non-urgent consultant-led treatment (the 18-week standard is at least 92%). Important context: gastroscopy waits are published separately in NHS England's DM01 diagnostics statistics. The wait shown covers the whole Gastroenterology list and is the time people on it have waited so far, not the wait for the scope itself.
On the Gastroenterology list, the middle of the providers' median waits so far is 9 weeks as of August 2026, across 206 NHS trusts and independent providers reporting to the NHS, and 9 in 10 current patients are within 34 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 →
If your GP suspects cancer, this is different. This kind of test or treatment is also used to investigate cancer. If you have been referred on the urgent suspected-cancer pathway (an urgent referral for suspected cancer), that is separate from the routine waiting list below — you should be seen quickly wherever you are referred, and it is not something to shop around on. If you have symptoms that worry you, speak to your GP.
Up to 10 acute and specialist NHS trusts with 50 or more people on the Gastroenterology Service waiting list, ranked by shortest median wait. Community and mental-health trusts, smaller lists and independent providers are on the full ranking: See all trusts on the Gastroenterology Service national page →
The test has its own published wait: NHS England's monthly diagnostic statistics (DM01) report each provider's gastroscopy wait. The Gastroenterology figures here are time waited so far by everyone on that list, not the scope wait.
The specialty figure runs from referral to the start of treatment; DM01 measures the wait for the test itself.
A gastroscopy is a test to check inside your food pipe (oesophagus), stomach and the top of your intestine using a thin tube with a camera inside it.(nhs.uk)
It should take 15 to 45 minutes to have your gastroscopy.(nhs.uk)
If you have sedation, you’ll need someone to take you home and stay with you for 24 hours.(nhs.uk)
Your options: when your GP refers you, you can usually choose the provider, among those clinically appropriate. Waited, or will wait, more than 18 weeks for non-urgent consultant-led treatment? You can ask the hospital or your integrated care board for another provider; it is not always possible.
The monthly diagnostics collection collects data on waiting times and activity for 15 key diagnostic tests and procedures.(NHS England) Gastroscopy waiting times by hospital →
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.