NHS Hip and Knee Replacement Waiting Times in 2026: How Long, and What Are Your Options?

NHS England's referral-to-treatment (RTT) statistics for August 2026 show:

"Pathway" means one referral: a patient waiting for two unrelated treatments is counted twice. RTT waits run from GP referral to the start of treatment, so they include the wait for a first outpatient appointment and for diagnostics — not just the wait for the operation itself.

These are figures for England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland publish their own statistics, and waits in parts of Wales and Northern Ireland have historically been longer.

National averages hide huge local differences. Hip and knee replacements are planned, non-urgent operations, so they are often scheduled after more urgent cases — which means patients waiting for joint replacement can wait considerably longer than the all-specialty median.

The most useful number is the current wait at your hospital, for your specialty.

• My Planned Care (myplannedcare.nhs.uk) shows average waiting times by hospital trust and specialty, updated weekly.
• The NHS App shows waiting-time information for many hospitals.
• Your hospital's patient access or PALS team can tell you where you are on the list.

Under the NHS Constitution, you have the right to start consultant-led treatment within 18 weeks of referral — unless you choose to wait longer or it is clinically appropriate to wait — and for the NHS to take all reasonable steps to offer you alternative providers if that is not possible.

In practice:

• Choosing where you are referred. When your GP refers you, you can usually choose which hospital (NHS or independent provider working for the NHS) you are referred to. Picking one with a shorter wait can save months.
• Asking to move hospital (PIDMAS). Through the Patient Initiated Digital Mutual Aid System, patients in England who have waited a long time — hospitals have been contacting those waiting over 40 weeks without a date — can ask to be moved to a hospital with a shorter list. Your whole pathway moves, and the request is clinically reviewed first.
• If your symptoms get worse. Tell your GP or the hospital. A change in your condition can change your clinical priority.

Whichever route you take, keep your GP informed: they will be responsible for your ongoing care once you are home.

OrthoVoyage is a patient coordination service, not a clinic. We work with a private surgical hospital in Jelenia Góra, south-west Poland, regulated under EU medical law, with direct flights from London Luton to Wrocław (about two hours).

1. Free assessment. You answer a few questions about your joint and your timeline.
2. Written plan. You receive the hospital's name, your surgeon, the implant model, the price and your itinerary — before you pay anything.
3. Surgery and recovery. Three nights on the hospital ward, then outpatient physiotherapy before you fly home.
4. Home. You return with your medical records in English for your GP, and your coordinator stays in touch through your recovery.