Last updated with NHS England data for August 2026. How we update

Paediatrics Waiting Times Across the NHS

The NHS Paediatrics waiting list in England has 321,274 patients currently waiting for treatment, with a typical wait of around 12 weeks across 114 hospitals. In practice, Paediatrics waiting times range from about 4 weeks at the fastest hospital to 23 weeks at the slowest. From GP referral to first Paediatrics appointment, most patients (92%) are seen within about 32 weeks; the NHS constitutional target is 18 weeks. 3,868 patients have been on the Paediatrics waiting list for more than a year. Waits for Paediatrics are about 0.8 week shorter than in August 2025.

12-month change

Then vs now nationally

Aug 25→Aug 26
Typical wait
12.1weeks
â–¼ -0.8 wks
How long most people wait
Seen in 18 weeks
7in 10
â–² +3.2 pts
NHS aims to see everyone this fast
People waiting
321k
â–¼ -6.4k
On the waiting list right now
Waiting over a year
3.9k
â–¼ -4.3k
Been on the list for 12+ months
114
Hospitals you could choose from
12 weeks
How long most people wait
7 in 10
Seen within 18 weeks
3.9k
Have waited over a year

Common reasons for referral

Developmental assessments
Childhood asthma
Growth concerns
Behavioural assessments (ADHD, autism)
Paediatric allergies
Childhood eczema
Recurrent infections
Bed-wetting (enuresis)

National trend

Average paediatrics wait across England, month by month.

â–¼ -0.8 wks

All hospitals

Hospital Region Wait Within 18 Wks 52+ Wk
Dartford And Gravesham NHS Trust South East South East 4 wks
98.1%
-
East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust South East South East 5 wks
98.6%
-
Stockport NHS Foundation Trust North West North West 5 wks
94.4%
-
The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust East of England East of England 6 wks
96.2%
-
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust North East and Yorkshire North East and Yorkshire 7 wks
98.3%
-
University Hospitals Of North Midlands NHS Trust Midlands Midlands 7 wks
79.1%
47
Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust South East South East 7 wks
100.0%
-
Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust London London 7 wks
89.1%
1
North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust North East and Yorkshire North East and Yorkshire 8 wks
82.5%
-
Portsmouth Hospitals University National Health Service Trust South East South East 8 wks
94.3%
-
St Helens And Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust North West North West 8 wks
82.2%
1
George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust Midlands Midlands 8 wks
83.7%
-
Harrogate And District NHS Foundation Trust North East and Yorkshire North East and Yorkshire 8 wks
88.2%
-
Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust South West South West 8 wks
81.7%
-
Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Midlands Midlands 8 wks
85.7%
-
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust London London 8 wks
85.2%
1
Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Midlands Midlands 9 wks
87.1%
-
Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust North West North West 9 wks
80.6%
6
Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust South East South East 9 wks
84.0%
-
Lewisham And Greenwich NHS Trust London London 9 wks
85.5%
1
Doncaster And Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust North East and Yorkshire North East and Yorkshire 9 wks
79.6%
2
Tameside And Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust North West North West 9 wks
79.5%
-
Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust Midlands Midlands 9 wks
74.9%
14
Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust London London 9 wks
83.5%
2
Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust South East South East 10 wks
80.7%
1
Guy's And St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust London London 10 wks
77.3%
18
Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust Midlands Midlands 10 wks
73.6%
-
Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust London London 10 wks
70.7%
-
University Hospitals Of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust North West North West 10 wks
72.9%
28
Wye Valley NHS Trust Midlands Midlands 10 wks
83.5%
1
The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust North East and Yorkshire North East and Yorkshire 10 wks
73.0%
43
Calderdale And Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust North East and Yorkshire North East and Yorkshire 10 wks
82.2%
1
East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust North West North West 10 wks
78.0%
-
Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust Midlands Midlands 10 wks
81.3%
-
Warrington And Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust North West North West 10 wks
73.3%
9
East Suffolk And North Essex NHS Foundation Trust East of England East of England 10 wks
73.4%
-
Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust North East and Yorkshire North East and Yorkshire 10 wks
71.3%
122
Airedale NHS Foundation Trust North East and Yorkshire North East and Yorkshire 10 wks
75.2%
4
Surrey And Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust South East South East 10 wks
78.7%
-
Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust South East South East 10 wks
74.8%
11
King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust London London 10 wks
78.0%
23
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, King's Lynn, NHS Foundation Trust East of England East of England 11 wks
69.5%
18
London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust London London 11 wks
75.7%
-
Birmingham Women's And Children's NHS Foundation Trust Midlands Midlands 11 wks
70.0%
39
Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust North East and Yorkshire North East and Yorkshire 11 wks
70.6%
4
University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust South East South East 11 wks
68.7%
132
The Shrewsbury And Telford Hospital NHS Trust Midlands Midlands 11 wks
76.3%
-
Barking, Havering And Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust London London 11 wks
90.5%
-
Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust North East and Yorkshire North East and Yorkshire 11 wks
82.7%
-
North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust East of England East of England 11 wks
65.0%
1
South Tyneside And Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust North East and Yorkshire North East and Yorkshire 11 wks
73.1%
-
Somerset NHS Foundation Trust South West South West 11 wks
70.2%
19
West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust East of England East of England 11 wks
69.6%
4
The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust North East and Yorkshire North East and Yorkshire 11 wks
76.1%
-
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust East of England East of England 11 wks
69.6%
51
Sandwell And West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust Midlands Midlands 12 wks
67.7%
43
South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust Midlands Midlands 12 wks
69.8%
1
University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust South West South West 12 wks
72.9%
-
The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust London London 12 wks
71.8%
1
Ashford And St Peter's Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust South East South East 12 wks
64.0%
5
East Cheshire NHS Trust North West North West 12 wks
67.6%
4
Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust South West South West 12 wks
69.9%
-
Chelsea And Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust London London 12 wks
71.0%
43
South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust North East and Yorkshire North East and Yorkshire 12 wks
68.0%
12
Medway NHS Foundation Trust South East South East 12 wks
69.7%
-
Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Midlands Midlands 12 wks
71.5%
11
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust Midlands Midlands 12 wks
67.8%
9
Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust North West North West 12 wks
66.2%
161
Royal Devon And Exeter NHS Foundation Trust South West South West 13 wks
64.6%
7
Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust North East and Yorkshire North East and Yorkshire 13 wks
64.8%
1
Bolton NHS Foundation Trust North West North West 13 wks
61.9%
-
University Hospitals Of Leicester NHS Trust Midlands Midlands 13 wks
63.5%
74
The Robert Jones And Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Midlands Midlands 13 wks
65.7%
-
East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust South East South East 13 wks
67.7%
-
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust North West North West 13 wks
62.1%
15
St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust London London 13 wks
67.1%
16
Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust South East South East 13 wks
69.2%
-
The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust Midlands Midlands 13 wks
63.2%
-
University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust South East South East 14 wks
61.8%
170
Great Ormond Street Hospital For Children NHS Foundation Trust London London 14 wks
65.3%
223
University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust London London 14 wks
62.0%
22
Epsom And St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust London London 14 wks
61.8%
47
Norfolk And Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust East of England East of England 14 wks
61.4%
49
Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust South West South West 14 wks
58.7%
-
Wrightington, Wigan And Leigh NHS Foundation Trust North West North West 14 wks
61.6%
62
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust South East South East 15 wks
60.8%
134
County Durham And Darlington NHS Foundation Trust North East and Yorkshire North East and Yorkshire 15 wks
59.5%
91
Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust North West North West 15 wks
59.0%
34
Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust North East and Yorkshire North East and Yorkshire 15 wks
57.3%
1
Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust London London 15 wks
58.7%
71
University Hospitals Bristol And Weston NHS Foundation Trust South West South West 15 wks
57.9%
289
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust North East and Yorkshire North East and Yorkshire 15 wks
58.1%
313
Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust East of England East of England 15 wks
59.4%
58
West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust East of England East of England 15 wks
57.3%
41
Maidstone And Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust South East South East 15 wks
58.2%
3
University Hospitals Of Derby And Burton NHS Foundation Trust Midlands Midlands 15 wks
56.9%
28
Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust Midlands Midlands 16 wks
61.9%
-
Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust North West North West 16 wks
55.9%
5
James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust East of England East of England 16 wks
54.7%
74
Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust South West South West 16 wks
54.7%
12
Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust South West South West 16 wks
54.7%
4
Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust North West North West 16 wks
53.1%
76
Barts Health NHS Trust London London 17 wks
53.3%
228
United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust Midlands Midlands 17 wks
52.9%
18
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust North West North West 18 wks
50.0%
-
Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust East of England East of England 18 wks
49.8%
33
University Hospitals Coventry And Warwickshire NHS Trust Midlands Midlands 18 wks
49.0%
102
Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust South West South West 19 wks
47.4%
6
The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust Midlands Midlands 19 wks
46.5%
2
North Tees And Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust North East and Yorkshire North East and Yorkshire 19 wks
46.6%
-
Northern Lincolnshire And Goole NHS Foundation Trust North East and Yorkshire North East and Yorkshire 20 wks
45.1%
1
Croydon Health Services NHS Trust London London 20 wks
45.0%
37
Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust South East South East 22 wks
36.0%
16
Mid And South Essex NHS Foundation Trust East of England East of England 23 wks
40.3%
611

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Frequently Asked Questions

How long is the NHS Paediatrics waiting list?

The NHS Paediatrics waiting list in England has about 321,274 patients currently waiting for treatment. The typical wait is around 12 weeks (nearly 3 months), based on data from 114 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 paediatrician 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 paediatrician. Nationally this currently averages about 12 weeks. In our data it ranges from as short as 4 weeks at the fastest hospital to 23 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 Paediatrics patients are seen within 18 weeks?

Across the NHS, 70% of Paediatrics 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.