NHS Spinal Surgery Waiting Times

What Spinal Surgery covers

Spinal surgery covers problems with the bones, discs and nerves of the back and neck — slipped or herniated discs, sciatica that has not settled, spinal stenosis (narrowing that causes leg pain when walking), scoliosis, and neck pain with arm symptoms. Most people are referred here after physiotherapy, painkillers or a steroid injection have not worked, and after an MRI scan has shown something surgery could help.

People are usually referred here for

• Sciatica or leg pain that has lasted months
• A slipped or herniated disc seen on a scan
• Spinal stenosis — pain or numbness when walking
• Neck pain with pins and needles in the arm or hand
• Scoliosis or spinal deformity
• Spinal fusion or decompression surgery

Procedures treated under Spinal Surgery

Waiting lists are recorded by specialty, so all of these share the Spinal Surgery wait times above.

Were you referred somewhere else?

The same problem is sometimes handled by a different department, and the wait can be very different. Check these too:

Your right to choose a Spinal Surgery hospital

Under the NHS Constitution and the Health Act 2009, you have a legal right to choose which NHS or NHS-commissioned independent sector provider sees you for your first outpatient Spinal Surgery appointment.

Your GP must refer you via the NHS e-Referral Service (e-RS) and offer you at least five choices. If you have already been referred to a hospital with a long wait, you can ask your GP to re-refer you to a provider with a shorter wait. This is entirely within your rights.

Research shows the average extra distance to a significantly shorter wait is just 13 miles.