A&E Trauma Unit

County Durham A&E Live Waiting Times

Darlington Memorial Hospital

County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust

Latest report
10 hr 30 min
04 Oct 17:20
Average
12 hr 39 min
11 reports
Reported by visitors, not the hospital. Waits shown here are typical for non-urgent cases. Patients are seen in order of clinical priority, so the most seriously ill are always seen first no matter how busy the department is.
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0 minutes total
Community reported wait times

These times are reported by visitors and may not reflect current conditions.

Nearby A&E & urgent care
Penrith Community Hospital Urgent Treatment Centre
48.0 mi away
Long wait
Cumberland Infirmary A&E
61.1 mi away
Long wait
Keswick Community Hospital Urgent Treatment Centre
63.3 mi away
Long wait
West Cumberland Hospital A&E
80.1 mi away
Long wait
Gainsborough Urgent Treatment Centre
83.7 mi away
Long wait

There are also other nearby A&Es which collect wait times from the community, including University Hospital Of North Tees, The James Cook University Hospital and University Hospital Of North Durham.

Contact & location
Hollyhurst Road, Darlington, County Durham, DL3 6HX
Opening times
MondayOpen 24 hours
TuesdayOpen 24 hours
WednesdayOpen 24 hours
ThursdayOpen 24 hours
FridayOpen 24 hours
SaturdayOpen 24 hours
Sunday TodayOpen 24 hours
Getting here
Train stations
North Road Rail Station11 min walk to A&E
Darlington Rail Station - main ent19 min walk to A&E
Darlington Rail Station - Park Lane19 min walk to A&E
Bus stops
12 routes·3 operators·5 stops within walking distance
Memorial Hospital (I, south-west)3 min walk to A&E
19Arriva UK BusDarlington
19Arriva Durham
Orchard Road (I, south-west)3 min walk to A&E
19Arriva UK BusDarlington
19Arriva Durham
Hawkesbury Mews (I, south-east)3 min walk to A&E
1Arriva UK BusTow Law ↔ Darlington
1Arriva Durham
17Arriva UK BusMowden ↔ Darlington
19Arriva UK BusDarlington
19Arriva Durham
2Arriva UK BusCockerton ↔ Red Hall
2Arriva Durham
2AArriva UK BusCockerton ↔ Red Hall
2AArriva Durham
3Arriva UK BusHummersknott ↔ Skerne Park
84Weardale Motor ServicesBarnard Castle ↔ Darlington
84AWeardale Motor ServicesWest Auckland ↔ Darlington
Orchard Road (O, north-east)3 min walk to A&E
19Arriva UK BusDarlington
Memorial Hospital (O, north-east)3 min walk to A&E
19Arriva UK BusDarlington
Plan journey by public transport
What’s available here
Accessibility
Disabled ParkingInduction LoopSigning Service AvailableWheelchair Access
Accommodation
Access To TvPublic Telephone
Parking
Car ParkingCycle ParkingDisabled Parking
Food and Amenities
CafeShop
Recent visitor feedbackreported by visitors
Overall
Not recommended by visitors
Staff
Staff are friendly and helpful
Not always kept informed about wait times
Triage is typically quick
Environment
Waiting area is clean
Toilets are clean
Waiting area feels safe
Family
Children’s play area available
Separate children’s waiting area
Facilities
Seating can be limited
No TV in the waiting area
Food and drink available nearby
No phone charging points
No free WiFi
Mobile signal is poor
Parking
Parking is easy to find
Payment accepted: card
Based on 1 visitor response in the last 6 months. This information is collected through a short anonymous survey shown to visitors on this page.

About Darlington Memorial Hospital

Darlington Memorial Hospital runs a 24-hour accident and emergency department, open to under 16 years, on Hollyhurst Road in County Durham, part of County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust. It is a designated Trauma Unit, equipped to treat significant injuries and to stabilise the most serious cases before transfer to a regional Major Trauma Centre. The wider site runs 41 listed departments and services, from Bariatric surgery to Vascular surgery.

The Care Quality Commission rates it Good, last inspected in January 2024. The site lists 832 parking spaces, 34 of them designated disabled bays, with patient parking averaging £1.33 an hour.

Official NHS performance

58.8%seen within 4 hours
12,901attendances in September 2026
60.4%England average for major A&Es

NHS England publishes these figures for County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust as a whole, covering every A&E the trust runs rather than this site alone. That is below the England average of 60.4% for major A&E departments over the same month.

The trust's general and acute wards averaged 97.6% overnight bed occupancy in the quarter to March 2026 - full wards are the main reason admitted patients queue in A&E.

Attendances by year

NHS yearA&E attendancesMonthly averageWithin 4 hours12hr+ waits to admit
2023-24153,65712,80551.9%148
2024-25153,43612,78657.4%255
2025-26154,62512,88559.6%257
2026-27 (6 months)77,11312,85258.4%181

Between 2023-24 and 2025-26, monthly A&E attendances stayed broadly flat and the share seen within four hours improved by 7.7 percentage points.

Frequently asked questions

How do I check the current A&E wait time at Darlington Memorial Hospital?

The live waiting time for the A&E at Darlington Memorial Hospital is shown at the top of this page, together with when it was last updated. Times are reported by recent visitors and carry a community badge - after your own visit you can submit your wait time in a few seconds to help the next person.

When is the A&E at Darlington Memorial Hospital quietest?

Patterns vary by hospital, but across UK urgent and emergency care the quietest window is usually the early morning, roughly 4am to 7am, with demand building through the afternoon and peaking in the evening. Friday and Saturday nights and Monday mornings are typically the busiest periods. See our guide to the best time to visit for more detail.

How long will I wait at Darlington Memorial Hospital A&E?

Patients are triaged on arrival and the most urgent cases are always seen first, so your wait depends on how serious your condition is and how busy the department is. Hospitals in England work to the NHS four-hour standard - the aim is to admit, transfer or discharge patients within four hours of arrival. The live figure on this page shows how Darlington Memorial Hospital is doing right now. NHS England's most recent figures (September 2026) show 58.8% of patients across the trust's A&E departments were seen within four hours.

How often are the waiting times on this page updated?

This page updates whenever a visitor submits a new wait time, so freshness depends on recent reports - each entry shows when that person visited. If you have been to Darlington Memorial Hospital recently, submitting your wait takes a few seconds and helps others plan.

Is the A&E at Darlington Memorial Hospital open 24 hours?

Yes - the A&E at Darlington Memorial Hospital is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year. In a life-threatening emergency always call 999.

Where is Darlington Memorial Hospital and how do I get there?

Darlington Memorial Hospital is at Hollyhurst Road, Darlington, County Durham, DL3 6HX. For general enquiries call 01325 380100. Enter your postcode in the Getting here section for a door-to-door route.

Is parking free at Darlington Memorial Hospital?

No - patient and visitor parking here averages about £1.33 an hour (NHS estates return, 2024-25). The site lists 832 parking spaces, including 34 designated disabled bays. Concessions often apply for blue badge holders, frequent attenders and some patients - check the hospital's own parking page.

What is the CQC rating for Darlington Memorial Hospital?

Darlington Memorial Hospital is rated Good overall by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the independent regulator of health and social care in England, following an inspection in January 2024. You can read the full CQC report.

Can children be treated at Darlington Memorial Hospital A&E?

This A&E serves: Under 16 years. If your child's age group is not treated here, the nearby section on this page lists alternatives - or call NHS 111 for urgent advice and 999 in an emergency.

Is Darlington Memorial Hospital a Major Trauma Centre?

No - Darlington Memorial Hospital is a designated Trauma Unit. It treats significant injuries and stabilises the most complex cases before transfer to a regional Major Trauma Centre.
About this data
This hospital does not currently have a live data source. The waiting times shown here are reported by visitors and may not reflect current conditions. You can see how we source data for every hospital on our data sources page. Department labels shown (e.g. A&E, MIU, UTC) are our interpretation of the source data and may not match the hospital’s own terminology. If any information is incorrect, please let us know.
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