Lumbar decompression surgery is an operation on the lower spine to relieve symptoms of compressed nerves, such as pain, tingling or numbness in the legs. It may be needed for spinal stenosis, sciatica or a slipped disc, usually after other treatments such as physiotherapy or steroid injections have been tried.
Hospital-level numbers for this operation are not published as open data. This page shows NHS waiting times for trauma and orthopaedics and, because an MRI scan is usually part of the assessment, how long people are waiting for MRI scans.
Hospitals in the North East
7 trusts in the North East with published figures. Sorted by name. This is not a ranking: read how to read this first.
Hospital-level numbers for this specific operation are not published as open data. The activity column is context only: it shows the trust's overall NHS-funded activity in OPCS-4 chapter V (bones and joints of the skull and spine) in 2025-26, from Hospital Episode Statistics, in bands. It covers many other procedures as well as this one, it is for the whole trust rather than one hospital, and it does not include private patients. It is not a count of this operation.
| Trust | Trust activity (context)Trust's overall NHS-funded activity, OPCS-4 chapter V (bones and joints of the skull and spine), 2025-26 (HES). Context only | Key outcomeNo hospital-level outcome data published | Waiting timeWhole trust | Patient experience | CQC rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation TrustWhole trust. Hospitals: Bishop Auckland Hospital, Darlington Memorial Hospital, University Hospital North Durham | Fewer than 150Trust’s overall NHS-funded activity in OPCS-4 chapter V, 2025-26. Context only, not a count of this operation. | No outcome data published for this operationMore measures
| 7.4 weeksHalf of people waiting for trauma and orthopaedics had waited less than this. 74.6% waiting under 18 weeks (August 2026)12.8% of people waiting for a MRI scan had waited 6 weeks or more (England 22%, August 2026) | About the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 7.9 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Bishop Auckland Hospital: No Approved Rating (CQC report for Bishop Auckland Hospital) Darlington Memorial Hospital: Good (CQC report for Darlington Memorial Hospital) University Hospital North Durham: Good (CQC report for University Hospital North Durham) |
| Gateshead Health NHS Foundation TrustWhole trust. Hospitals: Queen Elizabeth Hospital | Fewer than 150Trust’s overall NHS-funded activity in OPCS-4 chapter V, 2025-26. Context only, not a count of this operation. | No outcome data published for this operationMore measures
| 15.3 weeksHalf of people waiting for trauma and orthopaedics had waited less than this. 58.5% waiting under 18 weeks (August 2026)0% of people waiting for a MRI scan had waited 6 weeks or more (England 22%, August 2026) | Better than expectedInpatients rated their overall experience 8.8 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Good (CQC report for Queen Elizabeth Hospital) |
| The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation TrustWhole trust. Hospitals: Freeman Hospital, Royal Victoria Infirmary | 1,000 or moreTrust’s overall NHS-funded activity in OPCS-4 chapter V, 2025-26. Context only, not a count of this operation. | No outcome data published for this operationMore measures
| 12.3 weeksHalf of people waiting for trauma and orthopaedics had waited less than this. 62.7% waiting under 18 weeks (August 2026)24.2% of people waiting for a MRI scan had waited 6 weeks or more (England 22%, August 2026) | About the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 8.4 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Freeman Hospital: Requires improvement (CQC report for Freeman Hospital) Royal Victoria Infirmary: Not Rated (CQC report for Royal Victoria Infirmary) |
| North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation TrustWhole trust. Hospitals: University Hospital of Hartlepool, University Hospital of North Tees | 150 to 399Trust’s overall NHS-funded activity in OPCS-4 chapter V, 2025-26. Context only, not a count of this operation. | No outcome data published for this operationMore measures
| 8 weeksHalf of people waiting for trauma and orthopaedics had waited less than this. 85.1% waiting under 18 weeks (August 2026)3.5% of people waiting for a MRI scan had waited 6 weeks or more (England 22%, August 2026) | About the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 8.3 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | University Hospital of Hartlepool: Requires improvement (CQC report for University Hospital of Hartlepool) University Hospital of North Tees: Requires improvement (CQC report for University Hospital of North Tees) |
| Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation TrustWhole trust. Hospitals: Alnwick Infirmary, Berwick Infirmary, Hexham General Hospital, North Tyneside General Hospital, Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital, Wansbeck General Hospital | 400 to 999Trust’s overall NHS-funded activity in OPCS-4 chapter V, 2025-26. Context only, not a count of this operation. | No outcome data published for this operationMore measures
| 12.1 weeksHalf of people waiting for trauma and orthopaedics had waited less than this. 70.5% waiting under 18 weeks (August 2026)0.7% of people waiting for a MRI scan had waited 6 weeks or more (England 22%, August 2026) | Better than expectedInpatients rated their overall experience 8.7 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Alnwick Infirmary: Good (CQC report for Alnwick Infirmary) Berwick Infirmary: Good (CQC report for Berwick Infirmary) Hexham General Hospital: Outstanding (CQC report for Hexham General Hospital) North Tyneside General Hospital: Good (CQC report for North Tyneside General Hospital) Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital: Good (CQC report for Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital) Wansbeck General Hospital: Outstanding (CQC report for Wansbeck General Hospital) |
| South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation TrustWhole trust. Hospitals: East Cleveland Primary Care Hospital, Redcar Primary Care Hospital, The James Cook University Hospital | 1,000 or moreTrust’s overall NHS-funded activity in OPCS-4 chapter V, 2025-26. Context only, not a count of this operation. | No outcome data published for this operationMore measures
| 12.4 weeksHalf of people waiting for trauma and orthopaedics had waited less than this. 67.5% waiting under 18 weeks (August 2026)14.3% of people waiting for a MRI scan had waited 6 weeks or more (England 22%, August 2026) | About the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 8.4 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Redcar Primary Care Hospital: Good (CQC report for Redcar Primary Care Hospital) The James Cook University Hospital: Good (CQC report for The James Cook University Hospital) |
| South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS FTWhole trust. Hospitals: South Tyneside District Hospital, Sunderland Royal Hospital, Sunderland Specialist Eye Hospital | 1,000 or moreTrust’s overall NHS-funded activity in OPCS-4 chapter V, 2025-26. Context only, not a count of this operation. | No outcome data published for this operationMore measures
| 15.6 weeksHalf of people waiting for trauma and orthopaedics had waited less than this. 55.4% waiting under 18 weeks (August 2026)22.4% of people waiting for a MRI scan had waited 6 weeks or more (England 22%, August 2026) | About the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 8 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | South Tyneside District Hospital: Requires improvement (CQC report for South Tyneside District Hospital) Sunderland Royal Hospital: Requires improvement (CQC report for Sunderland Royal Hospital) Sunderland Specialist Eye Hospital: Good (CQC report for Sunderland Specialist Eye Hospital) |
Across England
In 2025-26, NHS-funded care in England (NHS hospitals and NHS patients treated by independent providers; private patients are not included) recorded 19,191 episodes where the main procedure was primary decompression of the lumbar spine (OPCS-4 V25). 6% were day cases. Half of the people admitted from a waiting list had waited less than about 96 days from the decision to admit them. These are national figures from Hospital Episode Statistics (NHS England, 2025-26, Open Government Licence v3.0); the same detail is not published for each hospital.
How to read this
- Not a ranking. The table is in alphabetical order. A higher volume does not on its own mean better care, and we do not combine the columns into a score.
- Trust activity (Hospital Episode Statistics). The bands show the trust’s overall NHS-funded activity in a whole chapter of the procedure classification (OPCS-4), for context. They are not a count of this operation, they are for the whole trust rather than one hospital, they exclude private patients, and we show bands only, not exact counts. Cut points are the lower quartile, median and upper quartile of all 128 NHS trusts in England with activity in OPCS-4 chapter V in the published table, rounded.
- Risk adjustment. Where a figure says “adjusted”, the audit has allowed for differences in the patients each hospital treats, such as age and other illnesses. Hospitals that take on more complex cases can still look different for reasons the adjustment does not capture.
- Bands and limits. We only say a result is higher or lower than expected when the source itself says so (for example NJR outlier status, NELA funnel limits, SSNAP levels, CQC survey bands). Where the source publishes a rate without limits we show the rate and the national figure, and say “No banding published”.
- Small numbers. A small hospital can have 0% or a high percentage by chance. Figures the source suppresses are shown as “Not published (small numbers)”.
- Trust or hospital. This audit publishes figures for each NHS trust, which may run several hospitals. The operation may only be done at one of them.
- Different periods. Each figure has its own period, shown next to it. Audit results describe operations done one to three years ago; waiting times are updated monthly.
- Talk to your GP or consultant about what the figures mean for you. If you are referred for planned care in England, you can usually choose your hospital.
Full definitions: methodology and data dictionary.
Data sources and licences
- Hospital Admitted Patient Care Activity 2025-26 (Hospital Episode Statistics), NHS England. Source: Hospital Admitted Patient Care Activity 2025-26, NHS England, part of the Government Statistical Service (published 24 September 2026). Copyright © 2026, NHS England. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. NHS-funded activity only. Open Government Licence v3.0
- Consultant-led Referral to Treatment Waiting Times, NHS England. Source: NHS England, Referral to Treatment waiting times. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Open Government Licence v3.0
- Diagnostic Waiting Times and Activity (DM01), NHS England. Source: NHS England, Diagnostic Waiting Times and Activity (DM01). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Open Government Licence v3.0
- CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025 (trust benchmark results), Care Quality Commission. Source: Care Quality Commission, NHS Patient Survey Programme, Adult Inpatient Survey 2025. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Open Government Licence v3.0
- CQC ratings, Care Quality Commission. CQC ratings: Care Quality Commission. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Open Government Licence v3.0
- Healthcare-associated infections: annual counts and rates by trust (financial year 2025 to 2026), UK Health Security Agency. Source: UK Health Security Agency, healthcare-associated infection annual data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Open Government Licence v3.0
Data last updated 26 October 2026. We do not change the published figures; we only group volumes into bands. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
Sources
We checked this guide against these official pages on 26 October 2026.
- Lumbar decompression surgery (NHS website)
- Sciatica (NHS website)
- Hospital Admitted Patient Care Activity 2025-26 (NHS England)
- Consultant-led Referral to Treatment Waiting Times 2026-27 (NHS England)
- Adult inpatient survey (Care Quality Commission)
Spotted something out of date? Tell us.