Patients waiting for routine care at Northampton General Hospital are facing significant delays, with some people waiting up to 57 weeks for treatment. Data updated on 3 April 2026 by My Planned Care NHS shows that for several specialties, eight out of every ten patients are waiting over a year for their procedures or first appointments.
Plastic surgery currently records the longest wait, with 80% of patients waiting up to 57 weeks. This is followed by ear, nose, and throat treatment at 56 weeks, while both maxillofacial surgery and dermatology patients face waits of up to 51 weeks. These figures far exceed the national constitutional standard, which aims for 92% of patients to be seen within 18 weeks of a referral.
The local delays occur as the health service struggles with national performance pressures. Across the country, about 61.5% of patients were treated within the 18-week target as of January 2026, leading to a missed government goal of having 65% of patients seen within that timeframe by March 2026.
Northampton General Hospital has faced recent scrutiny regarding its overall standards. In March 2026, the Care Quality Commission published a report confirming the hospital’s rating remains ‘requires improvement’. The inspection, which followed a February 2025 visit where investigators found the accident and emergency department operating at nearly double its capacity with some patients waiting on chairs for over 22 hours, resulted in a warning notice issued for three legal breaches involving safe care, staffing, and governance.
Medical Director Hemant Nemade has apologised for the decline in standards, stating that the trust is truly sorry for failing to provide the level of care the community needs and deserves. To help manage patient pressures, the hospital is currently developing a new urgent treatment centre and an improved emergency department entrance, which are expected to open in the summer of 2026.
Patients currently on waiting lists are advised to keep any hospital letters to hand and to contact their GP if their health condition changes while they await treatment.
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