Endometriosis surgery waiting times
How long the wait for endometriosis surgery really is, what it looks like at your own hospital, and the honest routes through it: the NHS, a targeted private step, or going fully private.
Updated July 2026 · NHS RTT data
See your GP without delay if you have any bleeding after the menopause, bleeding between periods or after sex, or bleeding that is much heavier or different from usual for you. Also see your GP if you have bloating, tummy or pelvic pain, or feeling full quickly, on most days for three weeks or more. These often have simple causes, but they are the symptoms the NHS checks promptly to be safe. Get urgent help (A&E or 999) for sudden severe pelvic or tummy pain, especially with feeling faint or being sick, or if you could be pregnant.
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Across England, half of Gynaecology patients are treated within 17 weeks; the average is 25, and 1 in 5 wait longer than 49 weeks.
Half are treated within 17 weeks
The average wait is 25 weeks
1 in 5 wait longer than 49 weeks
Pooled across 116 NHS trusts (15,853 patients). Source: NHS RTT, July 2026.
Seen a different number elsewhere? Why every website gives a different NHS wait →
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Your three routes
We don't tell you which to pick: we give you the honest shape of each and let you decide.
Join the queue and wait. Nationally that's a median of about 17 weeks, and longer at many hospitals. Check yours above.
Best if cost is the main concern and waiting weeks or months is manageable.
Pay to be diagnosed sooner, then have the operation on the NHS. If you are already referred, this does not change your place in the queue.
Best if you want to save significant time with a targeted spend, without paying for everything privately.
Pay for everything privately and skip the NHS wait entirely. The fastest route, and the most expensive.
Best if speed is critical and budget allows.
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
Private treatment cost varies with the procedure your consultant recommends, and is quoted before you commit.
Typical UK self-pay package prices, reviewed periodically.
How long is the private wait? Privately there is no formal waiting list. Allow about 4 to 8 weeks from your first consultation to treatment: against an NHS median of about 17 weeks in Gynaecology.
Related conditions
See every NHS trust's endometriosis surgery wait, ranked fastest first →
See the endometriosis surgery wait at every NHS hospital, ranked fastest first →
NHS endometriosis surgery waiting times at major hospitals
New Cross Hospital · Addenbrooke's Hospital · York Hospital · Torbay Hospital · Musgrove Park Hospital · Royal Berkshire Hospital · Hereford County Hospital · Derriford Hospital · Royal Cornwall Hospital · Manchester Royal Infirmary · Homerton University Hospital · John Radcliffe Hospital · Bristol Royal Infirmary · Russells Hall Hospital · Southampton General Hospital · Frimley Park Hospital
Browse all NHS waiting times →
See what an endometriosis surgery costs privately, and on the NHS →
Common questions
About endometriosis surgery
What it is
Endometriosis is when tissue similar to the lining of the womb grows in other places, such as the ovaries, the fallopian tubes or elsewhere in the pelvis. It can cause pelvic pain, very painful periods, pain during or after sex, pain when peeing or pooing during your period, heavy periods, tiredness, and difficulty getting pregnant. Symptoms vary a lot, and diagnosis often takes a long time because the pain can be mistaken for other things. It is usually confirmed by a laparoscopy, a keyhole look inside the tummy.
How it is usually treated
There is no cure, so treatment aims to ease symptoms. Options include painkillers, and hormone treatments such as the contraceptive pill, a hormonal coil or injections, which reduce or stop periods. Surgery can cut out or destroy the patches of tissue, usually by keyhole surgery. In severe cases, and when other treatments have not worked, removing the womb may be discussed.
After treatment
After keyhole surgery most people go home the same day or the next day and recover in about two weeks, often with shoulder-tip pain for a few days from the gas used. Pain often improves, but endometriosis can come back, so hormone treatment is frequently advised afterwards. If you are trying to get pregnant, ask your specialist how treatment affects your options.
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.
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