Geriatric Medicine Waiting Times Across the NHS

The NHS Geriatric Medicine waiting list in England has 26,393 patients currently waiting for treatment, with a typical wait of around 7 weeks across 112 hospitals. In practice, Geriatric Medicine waiting times range from about 2 weeks at the fastest hospital to 21 weeks at the slowest. From GP referral to first Geriatric Medicine appointment, most patients (92%) are seen within about 20 weeks; the NHS constitutional target is 18 weeks. 159 patients have been on the Geriatric Medicine waiting list for more than a year. Waits for Geriatric Medicine haven't really changed since April 2025.

12-month change

Then vs now nationally

Apr 25→Apr 26
Typical wait
7.1weeks
â–¼ -0.3 wks
How long most people wait
Seen in 18 weeks
9in 10
â–² +2.3 pts
NHS aims to see everyone this fast
People waiting
26k
â–² +2.9k
On the waiting list right now
Waiting over a year
159
â–² +111
Been on the list for 12+ months
112
Hospitals you could choose from
7 weeks
How long most people wait
9 in 10
Seen within 18 weeks
159
Have waited over a year

Common reasons for referral

Falls assessment and prevention
Dementia assessment
Frailty management
Mobility problems
Medication review
Delirium investigation
Osteoporosis
Continence assessment
End-of-life care planning

National trend

Average geriatric medicine wait across England, month by month.

â–¼ -0.3 wks

All hospitals

Hospital Region Wait Within 18 Wks 52+ Wk
Hampshire And Isle Of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust South East South East 2 wks
100.0%
-
London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust London London 2 wks
95.4%
-
Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust North West North West 2 wks
100.0%
-
Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Midlands Midlands 2 wks
100.0%
-
St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust London London 3 wks
100.0%
-
East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust North West North West 3 wks
98.7%
-
Isle Of Wight NHS Trust South East South East 3 wks
100.0%
-
Sandwell And West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust Midlands Midlands 4 wks
93.1%
-
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust North East and Yorkshire North East and Yorkshire 4 wks
100.0%
-
Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust South East South East 4 wks
98.0%
-
North Bristol NHS Trust South West South West 4 wks
100.0%
-
The Robert Jones And Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Midlands Midlands 4 wks
100.0%
-
Stockport NHS Foundation Trust North West North West 4 wks
98.3%
-
St Martins Hospital South West South West 4 wks
97.4%
1
Maidstone And Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust South East South East 4 wks
98.0%
-
Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust London London 5 wks
97.6%
-
The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust North East and Yorkshire North East and Yorkshire 5 wks
98.8%
-
Norfolk And Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust East of England East of England 5 wks
100.0%
-
University Hospitals Of North Midlands NHS Trust Midlands Midlands 5 wks
93.2%
-
University Hospitals Coventry And Warwickshire NHS Trust Midlands Midlands 5 wks
97.0%
-
Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust North East and Yorkshire North East and Yorkshire 5 wks
96.2%
-
The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust North East and Yorkshire North East and Yorkshire 5 wks
95.9%
-
Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust North West North West 5 wks
96.1%
-
Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust South East South East 5 wks
93.5%
-
University Hospitals Of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust North West North West 5 wks
93.0%
-
Doncaster And Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust North East and Yorkshire North East and Yorkshire 5 wks
93.5%
1
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, King's Lynn, NHS Foundation Trust East of England East of England 5 wks
93.8%
-
Croydon Health Services NHS Trust London London 5 wks
96.3%
-
King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust London London 5 wks
94.7%
-
University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust London London 5 wks
98.5%
-
Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust North East and Yorkshire North East and Yorkshire 5 wks
98.1%
-
Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust North East and Yorkshire North East and Yorkshire 5 wks
94.4%
-
Whittington Health NHS Trust London London 6 wks
98.8%
-
The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust Midlands Midlands 6 wks
96.8%
-
East Suffolk And North Essex NHS Foundation Trust East of England East of England 6 wks
97.6%
-
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust North East and Yorkshire North East and Yorkshire 6 wks
99.4%
-
University Hospitals Of Derby And Burton NHS Foundation Trust Midlands Midlands 6 wks
88.5%
-
York And Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust North East and Yorkshire North East and Yorkshire 6 wks
93.1%
-
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust South East South East 6 wks
88.8%
-
South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust Midlands Midlands 6 wks
96.6%
-
Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust Midlands Midlands 6 wks
93.1%
-
Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust South West South West 6 wks
96.0%
-
Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust South East South East 6 wks
91.3%
-
University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust South East South East 6 wks
95.4%
-
Guy's And St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust London London 6 wks
85.8%
-
Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust London London 6 wks
91.6%
-
Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust North West North West 6 wks
94.1%
-
Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust South East South East 6 wks
91.1%
-
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust Midlands Midlands 6 wks
88.3%
-
Barking, Havering And Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust London London 6 wks
95.1%
2
Medway NHS Foundation Trust South East South East 6 wks
95.6%
-
Barts Health NHS Trust London London 6 wks
91.3%
-
The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust London London 6 wks
80.3%
-
Lewisham And Greenwich NHS Trust London London 6 wks
97.7%
-
Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust Midlands Midlands 6 wks
94.4%
-
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust North West North West 6 wks
86.2%
8
North Tees And Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust North East and Yorkshire North East and Yorkshire 7 wks
92.4%
-
Countess Of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust North West North West 7 wks
91.3%
-
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust East of England East of England 7 wks
100.0%
-
East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust South East South East 7 wks
95.6%
-
Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust South West South West 7 wks
89.1%
-
West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust East of England East of England 7 wks
95.4%
-
Surrey And Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust South East South East 7 wks
83.1%
-
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust North West North West 7 wks
98.2%
-
South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust North East and Yorkshire North East and Yorkshire 7 wks
95.0%
-
Mersey And West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust North West North West 7 wks
84.2%
-
East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust South East South East 7 wks
89.0%
1
Northern Lincolnshire And Goole NHS Foundation Trust North East and Yorkshire North East and Yorkshire 7 wks
86.1%
-
Bolton NHS Foundation Trust North West North West 7 wks
82.1%
-
Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust South West South West 7 wks
81.6%
-
Ashford And St Peter's Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust South East South East 7 wks
80.7%
-
Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust East of England East of England 7 wks
89.2%
-
Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust South West South West 7 wks
82.8%
-
Airedale NHS Foundation Trust North East and Yorkshire North East and Yorkshire 8 wks
86.4%
-
Dorking Healthcare Limited (Dhc) South East South East 8 wks
100.0%
-
University Hospitals Bristol And Weston NHS Foundation Trust South West South West 8 wks
89.2%
-
University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust South East South East 8 wks
71.1%
4
County Durham And Darlington NHS Foundation Trust North East and Yorkshire North East and Yorkshire 8 wks
88.8%
-
East And North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust East of England East of England 8 wks
86.3%
-
Somerset NHS Foundation Trust South West South West 8 wks
82.6%
1
Wye Valley NHS Trust Midlands Midlands 8 wks
77.8%
1
Chelsea And Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust London London 8 wks
88.5%
-
George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust Midlands Midlands 8 wks
83.0%
-
South Tyneside And Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust North East and Yorkshire North East and Yorkshire 8 wks
79.6%
-
Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust Midlands Midlands 8 wks
96.8%
-
University Hospitals Of Leicester NHS Trust Midlands Midlands 8 wks
85.3%
-
Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust South West South West 8 wks
84.1%
-
The Shrewsbury And Telford Hospital NHS Trust Midlands Midlands 8 wks
100.0%
-
Mid And South Essex NHS Foundation Trust East of England East of England 9 wks
79.0%
5
Dartford And Gravesham NHS Trust South East South East 9 wks
85.2%
-
The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust Midlands Midlands 9 wks
92.9%
-
Harrogate And District NHS Foundation Trust North East and Yorkshire North East and Yorkshire 9 wks
90.1%
-
Calderdale And Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust North East and Yorkshire North East and Yorkshire 10 wks
82.0%
-
University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust South West South West 10 wks
65.2%
1
Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust North East and Yorkshire North East and Yorkshire 10 wks
73.3%
1
North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust East of England East of England 10 wks
71.8%
-
The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust East of England East of England 10 wks
88.0%
-
Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Midlands Midlands 11 wks
70.7%
-
University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust South West South West 11 wks
84.0%
-
North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust North East and Yorkshire North East and Yorkshire 11 wks
73.4%
-
United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Midlands Midlands 12 wks
68.0%
-
Wrightington, Wigan And Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust North West North West 12 wks
68.4%
-
Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust South West South West 12 wks
73.6%
-
Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust North West North West 12 wks
60.4%
-
Epsom And St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust London London 13 wks
66.5%
1
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust London London 13 wks
64.0%
-
Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust South West South West 13 wks
69.9%
-
Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust North West North West 13 wks
62.9%
-
East Cheshire NHS Trust North West North West 14 wks
60.9%
-
Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust North East and Yorkshire North East and Yorkshire 15 wks
55.9%
-
North Cheshire And Mersey NHS Foundation Trust North West North West 17 wks
53.9%
-
Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust Midlands Midlands 21 wks
45.1%
132

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Frequently Asked Questions

How long is the NHS Geriatric Medicine waiting list?

The NHS Geriatric Medicine waiting list in England has about 26,393 patients currently waiting for treatment. The typical wait is around 7 weeks (nearly 2 months), based on data from 112 hospitals. Waiting times vary significantly between hospitals, so it's worth comparing your options before accepting a referral.

How long will I wait to see a geriatrician on the NHS?

The headline NHS waiting time is the wait from your GP's referral to your first outpatient appointment, which is the first time you actually see a geriatrician. Nationally this currently averages about 7 weeks. In our data it ranges from as short as 2 weeks at the fastest hospital to 21 weeks at the slowest, so where you are referred matters. Any tests, procedures or treatment that follow that first appointment may have their own waits on top.

What percentage of Geriatric Medicine patients are seen within 18 weeks?

Across the NHS, 88% of Geriatric Medicine patients are currently seen within the 18-week target. The NHS constitutional standard is 92%.

Can I choose which hospital I'm referred to?

Yes. Under the NHS Constitution, patients in England have the right to choose which hospital they are referred to for a first outpatient appointment. You can use WaitRadar to compare waiting times and discuss your options with your GP.

Source: NHS England RTT statistics. about our methodology

This is informational data, not medical advice. Always discuss referral options with your GP. Full disclaimer.