Maximum waiting times for non-urgent referrals
The maximum waiting time for non-urgent, consultant-led treatments is 18 weeks from the day your appointment is booked through the NHS e-Referral service, or when the hospital or service receives your referral letter.
However, your right to an 18-week waiting time does not apply if:-
- you choose to wait longer
- delaying the start of your treatment is in your best clinical interests. For example, when stopping smoking or losing weight first is likely to improve the outcome of your treatment
- it is clinically appropriate for your condition to be actively monitored in secondary care without clinical intervention or diagnostic procedures at that stage
- you fail to attend appointments that you had chosen from a set of reasonable options
- the treatment is no longer necessary
What to expect following an urgent suspected cancer referral
If you’re referred for an urgent cancer check, cancer should be confirmed or ruled out within 28 days of the referral. This is part of the Faster Diagnosis Standard (FDS), which aims to diagnose and treat cancer as early as possible.
You’ll get a letter from the hospital within a few days of being referred to confirm they’ve received the referral. You should have an appointment with a specialist or to have tests soon afterwards (often within 2 weeks). Make sure you’re available for this appointment.
You have the legal right to ask to be seen or treated by a different provider if you’re likely to wait longer than the maximum waiting time specified for your treatment.
The hospital or integrated care board (ICB) will have to investigate and offer you a range of suitable alternative hospitals or clinics that would be able to see you sooner. If you are not happy with the organisation’s response, you can complain by following the NHS complaints procedure.
Compare waiting times
Waiting times may vary between hospitals, and you should consider this when choosing a hospital. You can use My Planned Care website to compare waiting times at different hospitals.
