Sciatica waiting times
How long the wait for sciatica treatment really is, what it looks like at your own hospital, and the three honest routes through it: NHS, a targeted private step, or fully private.
Updated July 2026 · NHS RTT data
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Across England, half of Trauma & Orthopaedics patients are treated within 27 weeks; the average is 29, and 1 in 5 wait longer than 49 weeks.
Half are treated within 27 weeks
The average wait is 29 weeks
1 in 5 wait longer than 49 weeks
Pooled across 118 NHS trusts (33,554 patients). Source: NHS RTT, July 2026.
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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 27 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, including the spinal decompression itself (typically £9,400–£13,100 for the surgical package), 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
A private spinal decompression is typically £9,400 to £13,100: 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 spinal decompression 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 5 to 10 weeks from your first consultation to treatment: against an NHS median of about 27 weeks in Trauma & Orthopaedics.
Related conditions
See every NHS trust's sciatica wait, ranked fastest first →
See NHS orthopaedics waiting times by hospital →
See the sciatica wait at every NHS hospital, ranked fastest first →
NHS sciatica 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 sciatica costs privately, and on the NHS →
See NHS MRI scan waits, hospital by hospital →
Common questions
About sciatica
What it is
Sciatica is pain caused by irritation or pressure on the sciatic nerve, which runs from the lower back down through the buttock and into each leg. It usually causes pain, tingling, numbness or weakness that travels down one leg, sometimes as far as the foot, and it is often worse when sitting, coughing or sneezing. A slipped disc is the most common cause. Most cases settle within four to six weeks. Get emergency help if you lose feeling around your genitals or bottom, or lose control of your bladder or bowels.
How it is usually treated
Staying as active as you can usually helps more than resting. Treatment starts with keeping moving, gentle exercises and stretches, and painkillers, and a physiotherapist can give you a structured exercise plan. If the pain continues or is severe, a steroid injection may be offered, or surgery on the underlying cause, such as a slipped disc.
After treatment
Most people improve gradually with exercises, and keeping them up is what prevents it coming back. After surgery for a slipped disc, most people go home within a few days and are walking straight away, but need to avoid heavy lifting, bending and twisting for about six weeks. Leg pain often eases quickly, while back pain, numbness or weakness can take longer to settle.
General information only, not medical advice. Your GP, consultant or physiotherapist will advise on your own situation.
Written by the Wait or Pay team and sourced to the NHS. Last reviewed September 2026.
How long will you really wait, and how could you go sooner?
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