14week median wait · June 2026
Half of the 13,671 people on the ophthalmology list here have been waiting longer than 14 weeks, half less. That is 1 week shorter than a year ago. It is about 4 weeks longer than the England average for this specialty. 458 of them have been waiting more than a year.
60%
seen within 18 weeks
(the standard is 92%)
44
weeks for the slowest 8% of the queue
283 / 298
shortest wait in England for this specialty
Which way it’s moving
1 week shorter than a year ago.
Median wait each month, 18 months to June 2026.
How the queue is spread
Treating sooner nearby
Comparable providers within 75 miles reporting a shorter wait. You have a legal right to ask for any of them.
| Provider | Miles | Median | Sooner by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spamedica Bexhill Bexhill-on-Sea | 61 miles | 4 wks | 10 wks |
| Anglia Community Eye Service - Thetford Healthy Living Centre Thetford | 75 miles | 4 wks | 10 wks |
| Practice Plus Group Surgical Centre - Gillingham Gillingham | 16 miles | 4 wks | 10 wks |
| Optegra Eye Hospital Maidstone West Malling | 29 miles | 4 wks | 10 wks |
| Spamedica Epsom Epsom | 55 miles | 4 wks | 10 wks |
Other waits here
The same right to choose applies to every one of these. Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust reports 6 other specialties in the June 2026 figures.
| Specialty | Waiting | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Other: Medical Services | 15,852 | 16 wks |
| Ear Nose and Throat | 15,733 | 24 wks |
| Gynaecology | 14,081 | 18 wks |
| Trauma and Orthopaedic | 13,254 | 29 wks |
| Urology | 10,668 | 17 wks |
| Cardiology | 10,249 | 13 wks |
Straight answers
About this figure
- It’s about six weeks behind. NHS England publishes monthly, with a lag. This page shows June 2026.
- It’s a trust-level average, not your wait. Your own wait depends on urgency, clinical need and which site you are treated at. Large trusts run several hospitals.
- It counts people still waiting (incomplete pathways at month end), not people already treated.
This page presents official statistics and points to a right you already have. It isn’t medical advice, and it can’t tell you whether switching is right for you. Your clinician can.