NHS Wait Helper

Hospital service waiting times

Orthopaedics waiting times at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust

At the end of August 2026, 12,085 people were on the Orthopaedics at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust waiting list and about 6 in 10 people (59%) had been waiting less than 18 weeks.

Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust · NHS trust · Orthopaedics across England

People waiting
12,085
End of August 2026
Under 18 weeks
59.0%
England: 60.9%
Over 52 weeks
189
Median wait
15 wks
Published median for this list

189 people (1.6%, roughly 1 in 63) 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 7.2% of everyone waiting at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust.

How published 18-week performance has changed

Orthopaedics, NHS England Referral to Treatment figures, April 2024 to August 2026.

18-week performance improved

Published 18-week performance for Orthopaedics at this organisation has improved over the past 12 months: 59% of people on the waiting list at the end of August 2026 had been waiting under 18 weeks, compared with 43% at the end of August 2025.

Share of people on the waiting list who had been waiting under 18 weeks, at the end of each month. Scale runs from 0% to 100%.
Latest · August 2026
59%
3 months earlier · May 2026
56.1% then · change to latest +2.9 percentage points
6 months earlier · February 2026
53.6% then · change to latest +5.4 percentage points
12 months earlier · August 2025
43% then · change to latest +16 percentage points
Earliest available · April 2024
39.3% then · change to latest +19.7 percentage points
Month-by-month figures
Share waiting under 18 weeks by month
Month endUnder 18 weeksPeople waiting
August 202659%12,085
July 202659%12,177
June 202657.2%12,295
May 202656.1%12,400
April 202656.4%12,456
March 202656%12,143
February 202653.6%12,509
January 202651.2%13,139
December 202548.6%13,212
November 202545.2%13,640
October 202544.4%13,800
September 202545%13,682
August 202543%13,799
July 202543.6%13,690
June 202544%13,596
May 202543.1%13,528
April 202542.7%13,372
March 202542.3%13,283
February 202542.3%14,564
January 202544.7%13,855
December 202443.9%12,829
November 202449.3%10,585
October 202451.7%10,268
September 202450.2%9,893
August 202448.5%9,756
July 202445.5%9,366
June 202441.2%9,095
May 202439.9%8,952
April 202439.3%9,037
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.
  • Trauma and Orthopaedics covers many conditions and operations. These figures are not specific to hip or knee replacement.
  • 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 orthopaedics 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.

Alternative trusts for Orthopaedics
TrustDistanceWaitingUnder 18 weeksDifference
Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust4.3 mi14,82354%-4.7 pp
Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust6.7 mi3,36967%+8 pp
Stockport NHS Foundation Trust6.7 mi6,46859%0 pp
Bolton NHS Foundation Trust10.4 mi2,31955%-3.7 pp
East Cheshire NHS Trust14.3 mi1,57161%+1.9 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.

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