Hospital service waiting times
Ophthalmology waiting times at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust
At the end of August 2026, 5,036 people were on the Ophthalmology at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust waiting list and about 7 in 10 people (71%) had been waiting less than 18 weeks.
Bolton NHS Foundation Trust · NHS trust · Ophthalmology across England
- People waiting
- 5,036
- End of August 2026
- Under 18 weeks
- 70.5%
- England: 72.2%
- Over 52 weeks
- 45
- Median wait
- 12 wks
- Published median for this list
45 people (0.9%, roughly 1 in 111) had been waiting more than 52 weeks.
This hospital's published position is broadly in line with the England picture for this service.
Why this page exists
This page combines facts that neither the organisation page nor the England specialty page shows on its own: the current published figure for this one service at this one organisation; how that figure has moved over the months we hold; the England figure for the same service in the same month; other NHS trusts within 25 miles reporting the same service; the published median wait and 52-week count for this list; the other services this organisation reports. This service accounts for 13.6% of everyone waiting at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust.
How published 18-week performance has changed
Ophthalmology, NHS England Referral to Treatment figures, April 2024 to August 2026.
18-week performance deteriorated
Published 18-week performance for Ophthalmology at this organisation has deteriorated over the past 12 months: 70.5% of people on the waiting list at the end of August 2026 had been waiting under 18 weeks, compared with 76.3% at the end of August 2025.
- Latest · August 2026
- 70.5%
- 3 months earlier · May 2026
- 76.1% then · change to latest -5.6 percentage points
- 6 months earlier · February 2026
- 71.8% then · change to latest -1.3 percentage points
- 12 months earlier · August 2025
- 76.3% then · change to latest -5.8 percentage points
- Earliest available · April 2024
- 72.5% then · change to latest -2 percentage points
Month-by-month figures
| Month end | Under 18 weeks | People waiting |
|---|---|---|
| August 2026 | 70.5% | 5,036 |
| July 2026 | 71.2% | 5,038 |
| June 2026 | 74.3% | 5,051 |
| May 2026 | 76.1% | 4,837 |
| April 2026 | 75.1% | 4,861 |
| March 2026 | 73% | 4,560 |
| February 2026 | 71.8% | 4,265 |
| January 2026 | 71% | 3,999 |
| December 2025 | 72.1% | 3,836 |
| November 2025 | 72.7% | 3,839 |
| October 2025 | 74.5% | 3,815 |
| September 2025 | 77.1% | 3,796 |
| August 2025 | 76.3% | 3,890 |
| July 2025 | 78.4% | 3,995 |
| June 2025 | 79.1% | 3,925 |
| May 2025 | 79.3% | 3,887 |
| April 2025 | 77.7% | 3,778 |
| March 2025 | 75.8% | 3,920 |
| February 2025 | 73.7% | 3,814 |
| January 2025 | 72.1% | 3,883 |
| December 2024 | 72.8% | 3,870 |
| November 2024 | 71.7% | 3,969 |
| October 2024 | 72.8% | 3,979 |
| September 2024 | 73.4% | 4,195 |
| August 2024 | 71.9% | 3,992 |
| July 2024 | 73% | 3,875 |
| June 2024 | 71.8% | 3,781 |
| May 2024 | 73.3% | 3,816 |
| April 2024 | 72.5% | 3,671 |
How we calculate change
- Each month's figure is the number of people waiting under 18 weeks divided by everyone on the waiting list, from NHS England's published monthly files.
- Changes compare the latest month with exactly 3, 6 and 12 months earlier, only where both months are published and the list has at least 50 people.
- The 12-month label is "improved" or "deteriorated" only if the share moved by 3 percentage points or more; smaller moves are called "broadly stable".
- Where NHS England reissued a month's file, we use the revised file. Months we do not have are left as gaps and never estimated.
- Earlier months come from our archive of NHS England's published files and are checked against our current figures wherever both exist.
What these figures cannot tell you
- These are whole-list figures for one specialty at one organisation. They describe the published waiting list, not how long any one person will wait.
- This specialty covers many conditions and treatments. These figures are not specific to any one operation or condition.
- Figures are published for the whole organisation, which may run several hospital sites. They do not show the position at any single site.
- Patients are prioritised by clinical need, so people on the same list can wait very different times.
- A higher share within 18 weeks is not a measure of the quality of care.
Other NHS trusts offering ophthalmology within 25 miles
Published figures only. These are whole-list figures for each organisation in one month; a different organisation's published position does not mean an individual referral would move faster there.
| Trust | Distance | Waiting | Under 18 weeks | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust | 6.3 mi | 6,195 | 51% | -19.5 pp |
| Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | 8.2 mi | 1,595 | 82% | +11 pp |
| Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust | 10.4 mi | 12,421 | 68% | -2.1 pp |
| East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust | 12.6 mi | 4,340 | 67% | -3.3 pp |
| North Cheshire and Mersey NHS Foundation Trust | 13.3 mi | 2,686 | 85% | +14.2 pp |
What these figures cannot tell you
- Where you are in a queue, or when you will be seen or treated.
- How urgent your own referral is. These are aggregate waiting-list figures and do not show the clinical priority of an individual patient.
- Anything about a specific consultant, clinic or site within a trust.
- What will happen next month: these are end-of-month snapshots of a past period.
Related guides on this site
- Work out how long you've waited
Explains how the 18-week measure is counted and what a published percentage represents.
- How to switch hospitals for faster NHS treatment
Reference article on how hospital switching works within the NHS.
- NHS patient choice explained
Background on the legal basis of NHS patient choice.
- What happens after 52 weeks on a waiting list
Background on how year-plus waits are treated in NHS reporting.
- How to use PALS about a waiting list
Reference article explaining what a Patient Advice and Liaison Service does.