Cataract surgery waiting times

Cataract surgery is one of the most common operations on the NHS, and one of the longest queues. Once your cataract affects your sight enough to meet your area's threshold, the NHS treats it free, but the wait can run from a few months to over a year depending on where you live. You have more choice than you might think: you can stay where you are, switch to a faster NHS hospital for free, or pay to be treated privately, usually within weeks. Private cataract surgery with a standard lens (the same lens the NHS uses) typically costs around £2,000 to £3,500 per eye, so most people treating both eyes budget roughly £4,000 to £7,000. Premium lenses that reduce your need for glasses cost more and are not available on the NHS. Below you can see the real wait at each hospital, and all your options.

Updated July 2026 · NHS RTT data

The national picture

Across England, half of Ophthalmology patients are treated within 13 weeks; the average is 18, and 1 in 5 wait longer than 31 weeks.

Pooled across 104 NHS trusts (32,432 patients). Source: NHS RTT, July 2026.

Seen a different number elsewhere? Why every website gives a different NHS wait →

Your three routes

We don't tell you which to pick: we give you the honest shape of each and let you decide.

If a private consultation is what gets you referred, your NHS wait starts from that referral, not from when your symptoms began or when you first saw your GP. You lose nothing by going private first, because you had no NHS clock running to lose. But you do not gain a head start either. Ask your GP for an NHS referral at the same time, so the clock starts while you are being seen privately.

What it costs privately

A private cataract surgery, standard monofocal lens (per eye) is typically £2,000 to £3,500: the all-in surgical package (surgeon, anaesthetist, theatre, hospital stay, follow-up). A private consultation to get there, and a scan if needed, are a few hundred pounds on top. If you pay for just the diagnosis, the cataract surgery, standard monofocal lens (per eye) itself stays free on the NHS.

Typical UK self-pay package prices, reviewed periodically.

How long is the private wait? Privately there is no formal waiting list. Allow about 2 to 6 weeks from your first consultation to treatment: against an NHS median of about 13 weeks in Ophthalmology.

See every NHS trust's cataract surgery wait, ranked fastest first →

See the cataract surgery wait at every NHS hospital, ranked fastest first →

Browse all NHS waiting times →

See what a cataract surgery costs privately, and on the NHS →

Cataracts are diagnosed by an optometrist at a routine eye test, on the high street or at home, not by a hospital scan, so there is no separate NHS scan queue to wait in before treatment. Once the optometrist confirms the cataract affects your sight enough to meet the local threshold, they refer you to the hospital, and the wait below is that surgery queue.

Common questions

About cataract surgery

What it is

A cataract is when the lens inside your eye becomes cloudy, making vision blurry or misty. It can also make colours look faded and cause glare from lights. Cataracts are very common as people get older and usually develop slowly.

How it is usually treated

Surgery is the only effective treatment. It replaces the cloudy lens with a clear artificial one. It's usually done under local anaesthetic as a day case, and the operation itself is quick.

After treatment

You'll use eye drops for a few weeks and may wear an eye shield at night for the first week or so. For a while, avoid rubbing your eye, swimming and heavy lifting. Vision often improves within days, and full recovery typically takes four to six weeks. Wait until then before getting a new glasses prescription. If both eyes need surgery, they're usually done separately, a few weeks apart. Get urgent help if you have increasing pain, spreading redness or any loss of vision.

General information only, not medical advice. Your GP or specialist will advise on your own situation.

Written by the Wait or Pay team and sourced to the NHS. Last reviewed September 2026.