Outpatient waiting times
Once we receive your referral from your GP, it goes through a process called ‘triage’ where we look to see the best way forward for you.
The three options at this stage are:
-
To send you for an appointment with a doctor/ nurse or other specialist for you
-
To send you for more testing, such as X-ray, MRI scan or other testing
-
To send advice and guidance to your GP and allow them to lead your care
For an appointment or testing, you will be contacted as soon as possible to offer you an appointment for the soonest time available. You will receive a confirmation letter of your appointment, which will tell you the day, date and time of the appointment. You may be asked to attend hospital for a face-to-face appointment or a virtual clinic, either over the telephone or using video calling technology such as Zoom.
We have a more detailed waiting time guide (in the table below) for the different departments and conditions. We aim to update this table on a monthly basis to make sure you have information that is as current as we can possibly provide.
Your specific waiting time will depend on your personal circumstances, your health, and the department that you need to see.
What to expect if you’re referred to us.
We have developed a short leaflet to give you some guidance on what to expect when you’re referred to us. This link takes you to our patients and visitors web page. What to expect if you're referred to us
Waiting time to first outpatient appointment at December 2023
|
Specialty
|
Clinic Type
|
Current wait time (Weeks)
|
Days of the week clinics are held
|
Locations
|
|
Colorectal
|
Routine
|
23
|
|
West Suffolk Hospital
|
|
General Surgery
|
Routine
|
6
|
|
West Suffolk Hospital
|
|
ENT
|
Routine
|
32
|
Monday - Friday
|
West Suffolk Hospital, Newmarket Hospital, Thetford Healthy Living Centre, Sudbury Health Centre
|
|
Voice
|
24
|
Friday
|
West Suffolk Hospital
|
|
Dizzy
|
0
|
Monday - Friday
|
West Suffolk Hospital, Newmarket Hospital, Thetford Healthy Living Centre, Sudbury Health Centre
|
|
Ophthalmology
|
Retinal
|
11
|
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday
|
West Suffolk Hospital
|
|
General
|
5
|
Thursday - AM
|
West Suffolk Hospital
|
|
Paediatrics
|
21
|
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday
|
West Suffolk Hospital
|
|
Occular Motility
|
12 |
Thursday
|
West Suffolk Hospital
|
|
Oculoplastics
|
11
|
Monday, Thursday, Friday
|
West Suffolk Hospital
|
|
Glaucoma
|
6
|
Tuesday, Wednesday
|
West Suffolk Hospital
|
|
Corneal
|
31 |
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday
|
West Suffolk Hospital
|
|
Cataract
|
31
|
Tuesday, Wednesday
|
West Suffolk Hospital
|
|
Orthopaedics
|
Shoulder & Elbow
|
19 |
Tuesday - Friday
|
West Suffolk Hospital, Sudbury Health Centre, Newmarket Community Hospital
|
|
Hand & Wrist
|
20
|
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday
|
Telephone Clinic, Thetford Healthy Living Centre, Newmarket Community Hospital
|
|
Hips
|
28
|
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday
|
West Suffolk Hospital, Newmarket Community Hospital, Sudbury Health Centre
|
|
Knees
|
11
|
Monday - Friday
|
West Suffolk Hospital, Newmarket Community Hospital, Sudbury Health Centre, Thetford Healthy Living Centre
|
|
Foot & Ankle
|
25 |
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday
|
West Suffolk Hospital
|
|
Paediatrics
|
55 |
Tuesday
|
West Suffolk Hospital
|
|
Plastics
|
General
|
11 |
Monday - Friday
|
West Suffolk Hospital, Newmarket Community Hospital
|
|
Urology
|
Routine
|
52 |
Monday - Friday
|
West Suffolk Hospital, Newmarket Community Hospital, Thetford Healthy Living Centre
|
|
Vascular
|
Routine
|
61
|
Monday - Thursday
|
West Suffolk Hospital
|
|
Cardiology
|
Routine
|
6
|
Monday - Friday All day
|
West Suffolk Hospital
|
|
Dermatology
|
Routine
|
72
|
Monday - Friday
All day
|
West Suffolk Hospital, Thetford Healthy Living Centre, Newmarket Community Hospital, Sudbury Health Centre, Haverhill
|
|
Paediatrics Routine
|
48
|
Monday, Tuesday
|
West Suffolk Hospital
|
|
Endocrinology
|
Routine
|
20
|
|
|
|
Gastroenterology
|
Routine
|
20
|
|
|
|
Hepatology
|
Routine
|
46 |
|
|
|
Nephrology
|
Routine
|
11
|
|
|
|
Neurology
|
Routine
|
20
|
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
|
West Suffolk Hospital, Sudbury Health Centre, Thetford Healthy Living Centre, Botesdale
|
|
Pain Management
|
Routine
|
42
|
|
|
|
Respiratory
|
Routine
|
33
|
|
|
|
Rheumatology
|
Routine
|
6
|
Monday - Friday
|
West Suffolk Hospital, Newmarket Hospital, Thetford Health Living Centre, Sudbury Health Centre, Botesdale, Stowmarket,
|
|
Gynaecology
|
General
|
41
|
Monday - Thursday
|
West Suffolk Hospital, Thetford Healthy Living Centre
|
|
Menopause
|
20
|
Monday
|
West Suffolk Hospital
|
|
Peri-menopause
|
0
|
-
|
-
|
|
Vulval
|
6 |
Friday
|
West Suffolk Hospital
|
|
Uro-gynae
|
32 |
Tuesday - Friday
|
West Suffolk Hospital
|
|
Hysteroscopy
|
7
|
Tuesday, Wednesday
|
West Suffolk Hospital
|
|
Paediatrics
|
General
|
44 |
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday
|
West Suffolk Hospital
|
|
Cardiology
|
2 |
Monday, Thursday, Friday
|
West Suffolk Hospital
|
|
Respiratory
|
39 |
Monday
|
West Suffolk Hospital
|
|
Allergy
|
47
|
Tuesday, Thursday, Friday
|
West Suffolk Hospital
|
For more information click on the specialty name in the table which will take you to the relevant page on our website.
What to do while you are waiting
For advice and practical support to help you and those you care for stay well while waiting for surgery, visit:
Suffolk and North East Essex Wellbeing Support Services (sneewellbeing.org.uk).
What to do if your symptoms get worse
If your symptoms get worse while you are waiting for your appointment, test or operation, you should contact your GP or NHS 111 for advice.
For more information about the services that we have, please see our Services pages