What is a ‘Two Week Wait’ referral? A ‘Two Week Wait’ referral is a request from your General Practitioner (GP) to ask the hospital for an urgent appointment for you, because you have symptoms that might indicate that you have cancer.

The maximum waiting time for non-urgent, consultant-led treatments is 18 weeks from the day your appointment is booked through the NHS e-Referral Service, or when the hospital or service receives your referral letter. However, your right to an 18-week waiting time does not apply if: you choose to wait longer.

We strongly advise that you take at least two weeks after your consultation with the operating surgeon to think things through before surgery. You can change your mind at any point and you can ask for a second opinion from another surgeon.

An urgent referral will be processed as quickly as possible and an appointment arranged for you. Some of the UK nations have targets around how quickly you’ll be seen. For example, in England an urgent referral means that you should see a specialist within 2 weeks.

The issue of overcrowding in waiting rooms delays treatment for individual patients and reduces the efficiency of patient flow from the ED to inpatient wards. One main cause for the long wait times observed in the ED is that non-emergent patients are coming to and being treated in these settings.

The maximum waiting time for suspected cancer is 2 weeks from the day your appointment is booked through the NHS e-Referral Service, or when the hospital or service receives your referral letter.

The maximum waiting time for non-urgent, consultant-led treatments is 18 weeks from the day your appointment is booked through the NHS e-Referral Service, or when the hospital or service receives your referral letter. However, your right to an 18-week waiting time does not apply if:

In Northern Ireland, the 2 week wait only applies for suspected breast cancer. Scotland, Wales and (in general) Northern Ireland don’t have the 2 week time frame to see a specialist. But wherever you live, a specialist will see you as soon as possible.

There are waiting time targets to start treatment. In England, Scotland and Northern Ireland the current targets are: no more than 2 months (62 days) wait between the date the hospital receives an urgent referral for suspected cancer and the start of treatment