Waiting times for hospital appointments in and around Reading vary by as much as 12 weeks, new analysis shows.

Ear, nose and throat (ENT) treatments were the slowest, with patients waiting almost 24 weeks on average within a 10 mile radius of Reading, according to Health Compare.

But Royal Berkshire NHS Trust outlined the intensive workload faced by its doctors and nurses, with ENT performing 18 tonsillectomies in a typical morning.

A spokesperson said: “Urology recently operated 155 patients over a two week period, our ENT team carried out 18 tonsillectomies in a morning session and Ophthalmology performed an additional 115 cataract operations in a two week period making total of 300 operations in a fortnight.

"And we plan more of these waiting list blitz over the coming months."

The spokesperson added that reducing waiting times was a key priority, but Health Compare found that in the Reading area, more than 1,200 patients have been waiting more than a year for an appointment.

The provider comparison site analysed data from NHS England, NHS Digital and the Care Quality Commission covering eight hospitals.

A total of four types of treatment kept residents waiting more than 20 weeks: ENT (23.9), Gynaecology (21.7), Plastic Surgery (20.5) and Other Services (20.1).

Rheumatology departments, which manage inflammation in bones, muscles and organs, offered the fastest appointments, with patients waiting 11.4 weeks on average.

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The Trust's spokesperson said plastic surgery and ENT appointments for minor operations have launched at Townlands Hospital in Henley to drive down waiting lists.

"The clinical setting at Townlands has helped to reduce patient anxiety around surgery, allowed patients to be booked in, and seen quickly, reducing waiting times."

More than 50 patients have been treated at Townlands for Plastic Minor ops so far and the service is running once a week.

Health Compare's data covers four hospitals in Reading, one in Thatcham, one in Henley-On-Thames, one in Bracknell and one in Windsor, all of which are rated Good by the Care Quality Commission.

The total NHS waiting list in the area stands at just under 50,000 people

A spokesperson for the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board said: “We are working with all our providers to reduce waiting times which have increased during the pandemic.

"With the exception of a few complex cases, we have now treated all patients who were waiting over two years and we are on target to treat all patients waiting over 18 months by the end of March 2023.

"Hospitals are working together to treat patients from across the BOB area more quickly if there is capacity in certain specialties, and they are focusing on prioritising patients according to their clinical needs.

“Some variations in waiting times exist between clinical areas as a result of the numbers of referrals being made, available workforce and capacity to tackle the backlog.”

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