Hip replacement · England
How long is the NHS waiting list for a hip replacement?
There is no single NHS waiting time for a hip replacement in England. Published figures describe how long groups of patients have waited at a hospital for any Trauma and Orthopaedics treatment. They give useful context, but your own wait depends on your hospital, your pathway stage and your clinical priority.
What the published figures actually measure
NHS England publishes referral-to-treatment (RTT) statistics every month. For orthopaedics they are reported at specialty level — Trauma and Orthopaedics — for each NHS trust and many independent providers.
Published NHS waiting figures are reported for the whole Trauma and Orthopaedics specialty, which covers many conditions and operations. They are not a hip-replacement-specific wait and cannot predict your own operation date.
Figures also describe everyone waiting, at every stage: people not yet seen by a consultant, people waiting for tests and people already listed for surgery. A median or 18-week percentage mixes all of them together.
What they cannot tell you
Aggregate figures cannot tell you:
- your personal operation date or how many people are ahead of you
- how your hospital prioritises your case clinically
- whether another hospital has capacity or would accept you
How to find out about your own wait
Your hospital's waiting-list or booking team is the only reliable source for your own position. Some areas also show average waits on the NHS My Planned Care site, which is likewise not a personal forecast.
Our hospital pages show the published Trauma and Orthopaedics context for each provider, labelled as specialty-level.
Browse hospital waiting contextWork out how long you have been waiting
What this means for you
- Note your referral date — your 18-week clock usually starts there, not when you were listed for surgery.
- Ask your hospital which stage of the pathway you are at.
- Use published figures as context only, never as a promise.
This guide gives administrative information for patients in England. It is not medical advice and cannot predict your operation date.
Frequently asked questions
Short answers first. Tap a question to read more.
Is the Trauma and Orthopaedics wait the same as the hip replacement wait?
No. It covers the whole specialty, including knees, fractures, spines and other conditions. Hip replacement patients may wait more or less than the specialty figure.
Why do different websites show different hip waits?
They may use different months, different measures (median, 92nd percentile, 18-week percentage) or different pathway stages. Always check the period and the measure.
See where you stand in 60 seconds
Use our free 18-week calculator to check whether your wait may have passed the NHS Referral to Treatment standard.
Sources & references3
Reviewed against publicly available NHS England RTT guidance and the NHS Constitution.
Editorial transparency
How this guide was put together
- Reviewed against the latest publicly available NHS England RTT statistics and guidance.
- Written and edited by the NHSWaitHelper editorial team.
- Cross-checked against the NHS Constitution and operational guidance.
- Independent — no paid hospital rankings, no hidden sponsorship.
NHSWaitHelper is an independent information platform and is not affiliated with the NHS. We do not provide medical or legal advice. Always speak to your GP, clinician, or a regulated adviser about your individual circumstances.