Emergency department waiting times
Hospital emergency departments treat and care for people with a serious injury or life-threatening condition. When you go for treatment, staff will assess your medical condition. They treat patients with a serious injury or life-threatening condition first. Waiting times can change quickly.
When you have a medical emergency
If you or someone near you has a life-threatening medical emergency, call 999 immediately or go to your nearest emergency department.
You should only go to a hospital emergency department if you, a friend or relative has a medical emergency.
For urgent treatment which is not immediately life threatening, patients should use the ‘Phone first’ service.
The service is available in all Health and Social Care (HSC) Trusts:
Further information is available at:
Emergency department waiting times
Waiting time can be dependent on triage priority category (your medical need and how critical or life-threatening it may be), with the most critically urgent patients requiring treatment first – not on the time you arrive.
The figures below, provided by the HSC Trusts, show the median times of patients currently waiting in ED (the middle value of all waiting times) from arrival to being seen by a clinician.
Minor Injury Units / Urgent Care services
Last updated: 5.45 pm, Friday 1 May 2026.
| Hospital/Unit | Opening hours | Average waiting time to be seen |
|---|---|---|
|
Mid Ulster Hospital PHONE FIRST 0300 123 1 123 Minor Injury Unit |
Open Mon-Fri 9.00 am-5.00 pm | Currently Closed |
|
South Tyrone Hospital PHONE FIRST 0300 123 3 111 Minor Injury Unit |
Open Mon-Fri 9.00 am-9.00 pm; Sat-Sun 10.00 am-6.00 pm | 4 mins |
|
Downe Hospital PHONE FIRST 028 4483 8091 Urgent Care Centre; Minor Injuries |
Open Mon-Fri 8.00 am-6.00 pm; Open Sat-Sun 9.00 am–5.00 pm | 66 mins |
|
Lagan Valley Hospital PHONE FIRST 028 9260 4643 Urgent Care Centre |
Open Mon-Fri 8.00 am-6.00 pm | 16 mins |
|
Omagh Hospital and Primary Care Complex Urgent care and treatment Centre |
Open 24 hours every day | 5 mins |
Emergency Departments
Last updated: 5.45 pm, Friday 1 May 2026.
| Hospital/Unit | Opening hours | Average waiting time to be seen |
|---|---|---|
|
Mater Hospital Emergency Department |
Open 24 hours every day | 202 mins |
|
Royal Victoria Hospital Emergency Department |
Open 24 hours every day | 155 mins |
|
Royal Children’s Hospital Emergency Department |
Open 24 hours every day | 94 mins |
|
Antrim Area Hospital Emergency Department |
Open 24 hours every day | 217 mins |
|
Causeway Area Hospital Emergency Department |
Open 24 hours every day | 73 mins |
|
Craigavon Area Hospital Emergency Department |
Open 24 hours every day | 111 mins |
|
Daisy Hill Hospital Emergency Department |
Open 24 hours every day | 89 mins |
|
Ulster Hospital Emergency Department |
Open 24 hours every day | 169 mins |
|
Altnagelvin Area Hospital Emergency Department |
Open 24 hours every day | 109 mins |
|
South West Acute Hospital Emergency Department |
Open 24 hours every day | 45 mins |
Further information on emergency departments for each Trust is available at the links below:
- Belfast HSC Trust
- Northern HSC Trust
- South Eastern HSC Trust
- Southern HSC Trust
- Western HSC Trust
Other healthcare services
There are other healthcare services that give expert care to treat your medical condition.
Picking the most suitable service for your symptoms means you get the right treatment in the right place.
- Emergency healthcare
- How to use to your health services
- Community pharmacists
- Your local doctor (GP)
- GP online services
- GP out of hours service