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NHS waiting times
Data through August 2026. NHS source.
Heart operation (general) is usually treated within the NHS Cardiothoracic Surgery Service pathway. The median wait so far across 42 NHS trusts and independent providers reporting to the NHS is 8 weeks, counted from referral on the whole Cardiothoracic Surgery Service list, and 7 in 10 patients on that 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%). Routing note: Heart operations on the NHS are arranged through Cardiothoracic Surgery after referral from Cardiology. The most common are coronary bypass (CABG) and heart valve surgery — see those entries for specific waits.
The national median NHS wait for Heart operation (general) is 8 weeks as of August 2026, across 42 NHS trusts and independent providers reporting to the NHS, and 9 in 10 current patients are within 31 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 →
Up to 10 acute and specialist NHS trusts with 50 or more people on the Cardiothoracic Surgery 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 Cardiothoracic Surgery 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.