How to ask for a faster hospital
Waited over 18 weeks for consultant-led treatment? You can ask to be offered a hospital that can treat you sooner.
At the GP stage
When your GP refers you, you can usually choose the hospital. Compare waits near you before the referral is sent.
After 18 weeks
The NHS Constitution sets 18 weeks from referral as the maximum wait for non-urgent, consultant-led treatment. If that is not possible, its handbook says your integrated care board "must take all reasonable steps to offer a suitable alternative provider".
Exceptions apply: for example, if you chose to wait longer, or if it is clinically appropriate to monitor your condition rather than treat it yet. Maternity care and services not led by a consultant are not covered.
Who to contact, in order
- Your GP: ask them to check the referral and the other hospitals that treat it.
- The hospital's PALS: the Patient Advice and Liaison Service at the hospital you were referred to.
- Your integrated care board: its patient experience or complaints team.
What to write
I was referred to [hospital] for [treatment] on [date], over 18 weeks ago, and have no treatment date. Please offer me a suitable alternative provider that can treat me sooner, as set out in the NHS Constitution. My NHS number is [number].
Sources:
- The NHS Constitution for England
- The handbook to the NHS Constitution
- Guide to NHS waiting times in England (nhs.uk)
- Your choices in the NHS (nhs.uk)
Last checked 16 October 2026.