General surgery (hernias, gallstones) waiting times at Colchester General Hospital (July 2026 NHS data)
The typical NHS wait for General surgery (hernias, gallstones) at Colchester General Hospital, run by East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, is 45 weeks (median, July 2026).
NHS RTT data · July 2026
Half of the people treated waited less than this, half waited longer, measured from referral to treatment. This is the wait for patients admitted for treatment (admitted). Urgent cases are treated sooner.
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See your free wait-or-pay dashboard→How this compares
The national median for General surgery (hernias, gallstones) is 18 weeks, so Colchester General Hospital is about 27 weeks longer than the national wait. Among the 106 hospitals reporting General surgery (hernias, gallstones), it has the 99th shortest wait.
Nearer hospitals with a shorter wait
For General surgery (hernias, gallstones), these hospitals within reach report a shorter typical wait. Under the NHS right to choose, you can ask to be treated at any of them, for free.
- Southend HospitalSouthend-on-Sea11 wks · 26 mi
- Princess Alexandra HospitalHarlow4 wks · 36 mi
- Addenbrooke's HospitalCambridge23 wks · 37 mi
- Queen's HospitalHavering23 wks · 39 mi
- Medway Maritime HospitalMedway25 wks · 40 mi
Conditions we cover in General surgery (hernias, gallstones)
These sit within the general surgery waiting list at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, so each shares its 45-week wait here. Open one for the NHS-vs-private picture for that condition.
Your four routes from here
- Stay on the NHS here at Colchester General Hospital, free, about 45 weeks.
- Switch NHS hospital to a nearer one with a shorter wait, still free.
- NHS-private mix: pay for one step, such as a scan or first appointment, then continue on the NHS.
- Go fully private to skip the wait, at a cost you control.
How long will you really wait, and how could you go sooner?
Your free dashboard compares all four paths for your treatment: wait, switch to a faster NHS hospital, part-private, or fully private. It names the faster hospitals near you, shows what going private would cost, and gives you letters ready to send. You can print it or save it as a PDF. Free, and nothing is locked or paid.
See your free wait-or-pay dashboard→How we know this
NHS RTT (referral to treatment) data, July 2026, for East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust. The figure is the admitted median for general surgery as a whole, not any single condition. The NHS publishes one wait per trust, not per hospital site, so this is the wait for East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust.Wait or Pay is independent and is not the NHS. Nothing here is medical advice.