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NHS waiting times
Data through August 2026. NHS source.
Across NHS hospitals in England, the median wait so far for Trauma and Orthopaedic Service — the specialty most knee replacement cases are routed to — is 12 weeks, counted from referral, and 6 in 10 patients on the Trauma and Orthopaedic 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: knee replacement is a planned major joint operation, and the NHS waiting-time figures we use are published by specialty, not by operation: the waits shown cover the whole Trauma & Orthopaedic list and are the time people on it have waited so far, so the full wait from referral to surgery will often be longer.
On the Trauma and Orthopaedic list, the middle of the providers' median waits so far is 12 weeks as of August 2026, across 306 NHS trusts and independent providers reporting to the NHS, and 9 in 10 current patients are within 40 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 Trauma and Orthopaedic 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 Trauma and Orthopaedic Service national page →
NHS England's monthly waiting-list figures have no knee-replacement line. These describe the whole Trauma and Orthopaedic list, which also covers other bone and joint problems.
The published wait counts the steps from referral to the start of treatment.
It's most commonly used to treat pain and stiffness in the knee joint caused by osteoarthritis.(nhs.uk)
Depending on the damage to your knee, it can be used to replace all of your knee joint (total knee replacement) or some of it (partial knee replacement).(nhs.uk)
You might be asked to go to a pre-admission clinic a few weeks before the operation.(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.
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.